After how amazing 2022 was, with instant classics like Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök, we’re frankly amazed that 2023 wasn’t only just as good as 2022, but potentially one of the best years for gaming ever. Alan Wake 2, Spider-Man 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Baldur’s Gate 3 would easily be shoe-ins for a unanimous game of the year selection in most any other year, yet they all released within in months of each other in 2023.
With so many games to choose from, let’s see what AIPT’s writers selection to be their 2023 games of the year.
Austin Manchester: Dungeon & Dragons was something I had wanted to play for the longest of times and, when I finally had to chance to join a group and (virtually) play during the 2020 lockdowns, I fell in love with it. It took what I love most about video game RPGs — the element of choice in character, dialogue, quests — and made choice the entire game. Along with my group, we had some semblance of control over how any given session would play out. Sure, the DM still had a path our adventure would travel, but how we reached the end was up to us.
Eventually life got in the way, work schedules changed, and the group hasn’t played D&D in… almost two years. It left a hole in my gaming heart that could only be filled recently by Baldur’s Gate 3, my game of the year for 2023.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is essentially Dungeons & Dragons: The Video Game. The writers, quest designers, and narrator (voiced by the wicked good Amelia Tyler) act in conjunction as your dungeon master, setting your Tav and their written-so-damn-well-it-almost-hurts companions on an adventure for the ages. So much has been written about Baldur’s Gate 3, and yet there’s almost not enough digital ink in Faerûn to properly convey just how amazing this game is.
A rapid fire list of why BG3 rocks your socks off: some of the best characters in gaming (Gale and Astarion being personal faves), top-tier voice acting, deeply satisfying immersion, an abundance of engaging side quests, excellent turn-based combat, a sweeping score (that House of Hope boss fight music!), dastardly villains galore, immense replayability, insanely high bang for your buck. But, most of all, Baldur’s Gate 3 essentially lets me play D&D again. Sure, its characters are all rendered on my TV and not my friends in person, but it approximates the tabletop experience abundantly well. 2023 was stacked in terms of releases — sorry, Spider-Man 2, Hi-Fi Rush, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor — and, for me, Baldur’s Gate 3 stood above them all.
Vish: I’ve been eagerly anticipating Alan Wake 2 since its announcement too long ago. Especially after enjoying the remastered version of the first game, I was looking forward to the next chapter of Alan’s dreadful and exciting story. Now, after having played it, I can easily say Alan Wake 2 is personally my game of the year. Hell, maybe even my game of the decade. I wasn’t big on the horror genre before this year but, after getting out of my comfort zone and playing the Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space remakes, I started appreciating the genre in a new light. Despite playing those games, Alan Wake 2 is by far the scariest game I have played.
The story is divided between two protagonists, Alan Wake and FBI agent Saga Anderson. Both of them have their own roles to play in this anxiety-inducing adventure, but the best part about the overall story is the balance these two characters bring to the game. While Saga’s chapters are more grounded and real, Alan’s chapters felt more like you are hallucinating on a bad acid trip. As much as these two characters have their own spotlight, in the end, their stories are like separate puzzle pieces that reunite to form one big magnum opus. This is when Remedy cemented the fact that they are truly the masters of storytelling.
With live-action smartly interwoven within an immersive gameplay and exploration experience, the game is a visual masterpiece. I am not a person who likes jump scares very much, but with Alan Wake 2 making me jump off my couch every five seconds, I found myself weirdly enjoying them, even though it scared the bejesus out of me. Every now and then, you play a game that instills a feeling of appreciation towards art. Alan Wake 2 made me fall in love with gaming again. This game is the reason I will always believe the best form of storytelling has always been through video games. It was one of those gaming experiences that will stay with me for a lifetime. As the credits rolled, I said in awe, “How are video games real?”
Dave Brooke: I’m not a huge gamer. I’m going to say that upfront because I largely play Marvel Snap more than anything else, but I did beat a few AAA games and dabbled with some indies too this year. The fact is, however, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom opened up my imagination in a way I didn’t think could surpass what Breath of the Wild did.
The creation of vehicles and the seemingly limitless ways you can build made me feel like a kid again. It reminded me of old physics video games I played in high school, and when you solved puzzles in this game, it felt rewarding. Tears of the Kingdom was also action-packed, and the fact that you could beat puzzles or bad guys in any way you could creatively think up made it entirely unique to your game style. The story was also intriguing and tragic on some scale. The world felt alive, robust, and the best representation of Zelda since the N64.
Nathaniel Muir: Two of the biggest releases of the year had me questioning my feelings about gaming. Tears of the Kingdom had a lot of stuff to do, and it was certainly creative, but it ultimately felt pointless. The next game I played upon release was Final Fantasy XVI. It was at the other extreme as it completely handcuffed me and gave me nothing to do. I did not know what I wanted from video games anymore.
Then Baldur’s Gate 3 came out and reminded me. My favorite games have effortlessly taken me to other worlds. A lot has been written about how horny the latest release from Larian Studios is — and rightfully so — but there is so much more to its characters. Each origin character has a deep story that makes anyone playing care about them. The fact their arcs can go a number of different directions, make them each feel fleshed out. It is impossible to not care for each one.
The storytelling is amazing. Yes, it is your basic fantasy story about saving the world, but inside the larger plot is a rich world filled with individual tales. Some mean more to the main plot than others, but none of them feel like they are just there for filler. Choices and consequences are a big part of Baldur’s Gate 3, and as the journey to the titular city progresses, you can see how your decisions have affected the world. After four playthroughs and hundreds of hours, I am still discovering new things.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is an example of how a truly great game goes beyond gameplay systems and graphics. They allow you to tell your own story and give you a chance to get away from the real world. The actual video game takes center stage and allows the person playing to simply have fun.
Justin Harrison: The story of Cyberpunk 2077’s long road to redemption is now well-told and well-known. It’s come a long way, and its 2023 expansion Phantom Liberty put a bow on its redemption arc as it’s a really fine example of AAA-tier gamecraft at its finest. With character building reworked by Update 2.0, Phantom Liberty’s Night City demands both attention and care in shaping player character V. A stealthy Netrunner will not be able to physically bulldoze a chromed-up warrior brandishing a giant hammer. A guns-blazing Solo will have a hard time stealthily infiltrating a well-secured lair. V cannot do everything. But they always, always, always have options. Phantom Liberty (and by extension, post 2.0 2077) is a wonderful sort of challenge — the sort that encourages players to know not only how the world plays, but how they play.
From a narrative standpoint, Phantom Liberty excels in emphasizing the limits of choice. There is no golden path here. Idris Elba’s master spy Solomon Reed and Minji Chang’s A-Number-One-in-the-World Netrunner Song “Songbird” So Mi care for V, and each other, and cannot be dissuaded from the paths they’re walking. As Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Silverhand notes, “That’s the tragedy, V. Someone’s gonna play victim to the other’s good intentions.” The only play is to make the best play you can and live with the consequences. It’s a magnificent gutpunch of a piece of interactive storytelling, the sort that sticks with you.
Yet, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty isn’t my pick for 2023’s game of the year: El Paso Elsewhere is. To be fair, its narrative (a combination of noir, horror, and failed romance shot through with a welcome and well-executed streak of bleak comedy) is catnip to me. But, acknowledging that, El Paso Elsewhere is a hell of a game. Design lead/writer/lead actor/soundtrack performer Xalavier Nelson Jr. and his team have created a lean, elegant action game that weaves together relentlessness and a deeply moving story about recovery (from abuse, from addiction, from despair) and the work that goes into making it stick.
Design-wise, El Paso Elsewhere is a tremendously impressive work of balance. While its challenge steadily escalates, the escalation is based on addition, rather than substitution. The first foes folklorist and monster hunter James Savage faces are dusty Orlokian vampires clad in the remains of their mummy wrappings. Nelson and company continuously deploy them in new ways through the lower levels of a crummy El Past motel — as harriers who interfere with Savage taking on longer-range foes and ambushers springing out at precisely the wrong moment. Conversely, while Savage builds an arsenal on his journey to stop his vampiric ex Draculae from ending the world, no one weapon is an all-powerful foehammerer. El Paso Elsewhere never lets up, and it never leaves the player stranded. If they fail, well, like the re-loading screen says: “YOU KEEP GOING.”
Story-wise, El Paso Elsewhere engages the raw with care. James Savage is an addict who has deliberately broken his sobriety to have a chance at stopping his ex from destroying reality. Though he knows full well that Draculae was a severely emotionally abusive partner, Savage still cares for her. He is not downplaying or ignoring the harm she did to him, but love — even irretrievably poisoned by cruelty — isn’t something that can be set aside easily. Savage navigating the remains of his love for Draculae is as important to El Paso Elsewhere as striking down her army of the night. It’s a tricky needle to thread, and Nelson and his team thread it with precision and style. It’s thoughtful, affecting storytelling that strikes true — the best part of my personal best game of the year.
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