Starting with a more underground one, from the creators of Danganronpa, Rain Code was a great game to play for those sessions where you want some great mystery and story telling, this time in a strict 3D environment, unlike Danganronpa! Just like its predecesors, Rain Code has the mystery, characters, music, art direction, just the VIBES in general. I highly recommend this game for those into this stuff!

I am such a sucker for the Supermassive Games games. Until Dawn is one of my favorite games, Dark Pictures is a neat thing to visit each year, and The Quarry is another one of those great horror vibes that eat up your brain space for months! Once again, the mystery keeps you hooked, characters are well written and acted to the point where you care for them, and of course, when they die, it hits. Supermassive Games once again does what they do best, and this is one of their finest works yet. 

I feel like there's always that one fighting game that I always put a hundred hours into, and I'm so happy to make Street Fighter 6 the one. The best part of this game is the inclusitivy it brings to newcomers. The single player content is dense, the online is fantastic, and the gameplay itself is just so solid, fast paced, and flashy to boot. This is the game to introduce me to Street Fighter, and I'm glad the main selling point of the game has given me the experience I came for. 

An unexpected entry in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series (at least for me), but one that I cannot imagine without. This game does SUCH a great job pushing Kiryu to his limits as a character, and this connecting the hole in the series that has been missing for a hot minute is super appreciated. Top that with new combat mechanics, great characters, and of course, karaoke music that belongs in every playlist. 

Much like a game later on in the list, Spider-Man 2 continues the triple AAA sequel trend of making an already amazing game bigger and better. Many ideas becoming things that you cannot believe were missing from the previous instalments, more fleshed out combat and traversal systems, and the biggest part of this game (which is crazy to say for the Spider-Man games), a narrative story taken to the limits of human emotion. Once again, a must play for all PS5 owners. 

I'm still new into the souls genre, so I was a little concerned that Lies of P wouldn't capture me like Elden Ring or Bloodborne did last year. Lies of P did just that and more. The presentation, the world building, the weapons I actually think do a better job for experimenting than From Soft games do, I was just eating ALL the steam punk vibes this game had to offer. I cannot wait for the future for the series, as well as the DLC, because if the DLC is half as good as this, then we're in for something special. 

Hi-Fi Rush is just THAT game. Take an action game with platforming elements and throw in a musical world seen in a Rhythm Heaven game? You get the best game the indursty needed. Shadow dropping the same day it was announced, Hi-Fi Rush just took my by surprise. A game that combines all of my favorite genres in games, tossed in with such a memorable cast, and a banging soundtrack, and you have a game that makes top 5 on my list, and one that will never be forgotten any time soon. 

Speaking of originality, after the 2D Mario burnout, Mario Wonder is exactly what we needed. Everything just screams originality and pops into your senses in every way possible. I wouldn't even mind having another 10 years of this Mario formula if each and every installment is as original as this. I say this now but we'll see in 10 years.

SURPRISE, this is going to be a very biased list, and this does include Zelda as being number 2. This game taking the 2022 approach and making a sequel bigger and better than anyone could have imagined was such a huge experience. With three different maps, a captivating story, and just hundreds of hours going through Hyrule, this absolutely deserves top 3 at minimum. 

This was the big lump of honorable mentions I was eluding to! This year was GREAT for DLC. There was the masterful half-sequel to Cyberpunk with Phantom Liberties, the sudden announcement of God of War Ragnarok Valhalla, the perfect send off to Xenoblade Chronicles 3 with Future Connected, and I'd even argue Pokemon DLC deserves a spotlight too. Every one of these deserve an honorable mention. 

While Redfall and Sonic Superstars may seem like obvious picks for this year's dishonorable mentions, Starfield is my choice. Unlike the former two games, Starfield was filled with so many expectations and so much potential, and of course MANY love this game. For me, I just wished there was more quality than quality. The content itself feels dry, the promise of space exploration fell flat, and just I wish it had more of an identity than just "space game." I'm sure it'll have a CDPR comeback, but right now, it was my most dissapointing game this year. 

And here is the bias! Pikmin 4 is my game of the year for 2023. This one was just a 10+ year wair for one of my favorite franchises, having it come to fruition, and blowing away any and all expectations I had for it. It had the legacy, hype, anticipation, be met with perfect gameplay, great graphics, cozy music, and of course, the little 'min too. I love Pikmin, and this solidifies it more than it already has.