2023 Games of the Year(ish)

[AccidentalDenz]

Baldurs Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are probably two of the very best games released this year, but the inches-thick layer of dust on my Switch show how often I get that out, so I've clearly not played LoZ:TotK. Although I own BG2, I've never actually played it, so didn't really get swept up in the hype of BG3, but it is a fantastic game by all accounts.

So that brings me to this thread, where I'm going to highlight a few of my own personal Games of the Year, with a caveat that it's my thread and so I'm going to cheat as and when appropriate.

In no particular order, but to get the cheating out of the way first:

Cyberpunk 2077 - yes, it did come out in 2020, but the Phantom Liberty expansion really does elevate the game to where it should have been on release with a new story, new locations and new features added to the game. It's a shame that CDPR are effectively washing their hands of the game now barring bugfixes, but CP2077 now is a fantastically enjoyable experience and so is one of my games of the year because of the new additions from Phantom Liberty!

Dave the Diver - I've mentioned this game a couple of times this year, and this was definitely one of the indie hits of 2023. It has you playing as Dave who is a deep sea diver by day and sushi restaurant manager by night. While diving, you catch fish that you'll be looking to sell when doing the restaurant minigame. It's a very relaxing game and so I will definitely be keeping an eye on the devs for either more content or to see what they have planned next!

Dredge - anothing fish-related game which I really enjoyed this year. Lovecraftian horror fishing games was not a genre I thought I needed until I played this. Bonus fun that the developers have done a crossover so there's some Dredge content available in the above Dave the Diver.

I'm curious to see what 2024 brings us in terms of new games!

 

[HomerJ]

Baldurs Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are probably two of the very best games released this year, but the inches-thick layer of dust on my Switch show how often I get that out, so I've clearly not played LoZ:TotK. Although I own BG2, I've never actually played it, so didn't really get swept up in the hype of BG3, but it is a fantastic game by all accounts.

So that brings me to this thread, where I'm going to highlight a few of my own personal Games of the Year, with a caveat that it's my thread and so I'm going to cheat as and when appropriate.

In no particular order, but to get the cheating out of the way first:

Cyberpunk 2077 - yes, it did come out in 2020, but the Phantom Liberty expansion really does elevate the game to where it should have been on release with a new story, new locations and new features added to the game. It's a shame that CDPR are effectively washing their hands of the game now barring bugfixes, but CP2077 now is a fantastically enjoyable experience and so is one of my games of the year because of the new additions from Phantom Liberty!

Dave the Diver - I've mentioned this game a couple of times this year, and this was definitely one of the indie hits of 2023. It has you playing as Dave who is a deep sea diver by day and sushi restaurant manager by night. While diving, you catch fish that you'll be looking to sell when doing the restaurant minigame. It's a very relaxing game and so I will definitely be keeping an eye on the devs for either more content or to see what they have planned next!

Dredge - anothing fish-related game which I really enjoyed this year. Lovecraftian horror fishing games was not a genre I thought I needed until I played this. Bonus fun that the developers have done a crossover so there's some Dredge content available in the above Dave the Diver.

I'm curious to see what 2024 brings us in terms of new games!

dave the diver looks good

 

[AccidentalDenz]

dave the diver looks good

For all the near photo realism of Unreal Engine 5, I love pixel art style games done well. Dave the Diver is done well!

 

[steaky360]

For all the near photo realism of Unreal Engine 5, I love pixel art style games done well. Dave the Diver is done well!

Not played Dave the Diver but have played a reasonable amount of Dredge and its excellent. From what I've seen of Dave the Diver its utterly bonkers too so will certainly be checking it out in time!

I've not gone back to Cyberpunk yet, again I'm sure I will eventually but have only heard excellent things about PoL so am looking forward to it when I do.

I have gotten swept up in Baldurs Gate 3 majesty, I can say with some certainty that not playing BG1 or BG2 won't negatively impact your enjoyment of BG3 assuming you like the turn based combat style and general mechanics. However, if you want to immerse yourself in the lore etc. of the setting then it wont hurt to play those games. I say this and yet haven't even gotten out of Act1 . BG3 is one of the most highly polished TTRPG crossover titles I have ever seen.

 

[AccidentalDenz]

Not played Dave the Diver but have played a reasonable amount of Dredge and its excellent. From what I've seen of Dave the Diver its utterly bonkers too so will certainly be checking it out in time!

I've not gone back to Cyberpunk yet, again I'm sure I will eventually but have only heard excellent things about PoL so am looking forward to it when I do.

I have gotten swept up in Baldurs Gate 3 majesty, I can say with some certainty that not playing BG1 or BG2 won't negatively impact your enjoyment of BG3 assuming you like the turn based combat style and general mechanics. However, if you want to immerse yourself in the lore etc. of the setting then it wont hurt to play those games. I say this and yet haven't even gotten out of Act1 . BG3 is one of the most highly polished TTRPG crossover titles I have ever seen.

Dredge and Dave the Diver are very much bonkers in their own ways!

I played BG1 for a few weeks back in school when a friend lent me the disc, but as CD writers were not widely available then, I wasn't able to play the game beyond that point so never kept hold of a save file from a game I didn't own. During my time with BG1 I could certainly see why it was thought of as one of the all time greats at the time. BG3 certainly seems to be in a similar vein, but I'm now at the point where I try not to buy games unless I'm planning to start playing them there and then. With my active backlog of games I really want to play being what it is, I can't justify getting BG3 even with all the hype seemingly having been met as there are games out there I want to play more.

 

[Steveyg]

I'm at the final mission again in Cyberpunk, have to say the game is absolutely excellent now. There isn't a game that exists that's close to as beautiful as Nightcity it's truely incredible

I did want to go with Johnny and take on Arasaka just the two of us but I didn't make the right choices apparently to get the "secret" ending which is disappointing after a tonne of hours pumped in but still I love the game

 

[AccidentalDenz]

I did want to go with Johnny and take on Arasaka just the two of us but I didn't make the right choices apparently to get the "secret" ending which is disappointing after a tonne of hours pumped in but still I love the game

I've not seen that ending either. I think you have to be particularly lucky (or following a guide!) to see it from what I've read!