GINX Top 10 Games Of 2023

2023 was an absurd year for video games. Not only did we get some of the most fun, innovative, and visually spectacular AAA titles of this generation, but indies continue to make games a vastly superior artistic medium of expression. 

From ethereal cinematic experiences like Alan Wake 2 to RPG behemoths like Baldur's Gate 3. From Tears of the Kingdom, whose excellent game design laid the pathway for many future open world titles, to free-to-play gacha games like Honkai: Star Rail that's taking over the world by storm. It's safe to say that 2023 had something for everyone.

However, not everything about games this year was all sunshine and roses. 2023 was a distressing year for the people who make games and the ones who write about them (aka us games media folks.) An unprecedented amount of layoffs occurred throughout the year, crushing the spirits of hundreds and thousands of people who have worked tirelessly to preserve the integrity of this industry. While the NFT fever died down, another dark side of the internet, AI, started to seep into every facet of this industry. And then there was this year's The Game Awards. 

Life is, after all, an RPG, and soon the ripple effects of these occurrences will start to pop up, shifting the tides of games. But until that happens, we wanted to take a moment to appreciate the reason why we are all here — the games themselves. Without further ado, here are our top 10 video games of 2023. 

Please Note: This list is in no particular order and reflects the thoughts of the writer and the rest of the GINX staff. As such, someone else's game of the year may or may not have made it to this list. Also, this list doesn't include remasters and remakes.

Best Games Of 2023

Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-Fi Rush was the best-kept secret of 2023. Not only did it shadow drop on Xbox, but also in our hearts with its endearing visuals, snappy writing, and head-banging rhythm-based combat.

This PS2 era-style action/rhym/platformer felt confident and refreshing and was the perfect way to kick off 2023. As the honeymoon phase of subscription services draws near, looking back, it feels like Hi-Fi Rush exemplified the best of what this business model can offer.

Spider-Man 2 

Spider-Man 2 was another homerun for Insomniac Games, the Sony-owned studio. It featured some of the best set pieces in a Spider-Man adventure across all mediums, period. Most importantly, it understood what it took to be a Spider-Man(s).

While the overly familiar open world setting and the redundant combat held it from being flawless, its engaging narrative and complex characters made it a deeply memorable experience and a shining example of why superhero games will continue to thrive as long as there are great stories to tell. 

Check out our in-depth Spider-Man 2 Review here.

Honkai: Star Rail

Honkai: Star Rail is the new standard for freemium AAA RPGs. Its world has the quirkiness and mystique of miYoHo's past titles, where its turn-based combat system carries the essence of JRPG legends like The Trails and the Persona franchise. 

While the grind could be a chore at times, Star Rail is still an incredibly satisfying and rewarding experience, which, even in its first year, has more meaningful stuff to offer than a vast majority of modern AAA live-service titles. 

Check out our initial impressions of Honkai: Star Rail here. 

Lies of P

Lies of P's biggest achievement is that it understands what makes a soulsborne title so appealing — the atmosphere. Exploring Krat's Victorian streets is a cathartic experience that fans of the genre have been craving since 2015's Bloodborne.

The Bloodborne inspirations are obvious, and that's okay because Lies of P is a game for that particular audience. However, Neowiz's spin on the Soulsborne subgenre isn't just a Bloodborne clone. It's a subtle adaptation of Carlo Collodi's novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, that's reflected in the game's unique morale system, stellar enemy designs, intriguing lore, and punishing but fair combat system.

Check out our in-depth Lies of P Review here.

Dave the Diver

Every year, there's at least one game release from a small studio that breaks the internet with its innovative game design and engaging gameplay loop. Dave the Diver was that game in 2023. 

It's a light-hearted but complex game about deep sea diving where players can collect resources, solve underwater puzzles, and take down sea creatures. The best thing about Dave the Diver is how meticulously it blends elements from different game genres to make one wholesome and memorable experience. 

Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 is the spiritual sequel to Dragon Age: Origins, which Bioware could never make. That alone is a feat worthy of making it one of the best RPGs of all time. But calling it a next-gen version of DA:O would be selling it short. 

Larian's latest is a narrative genius. But it's also one of the best-looking games of the generation and features a multi-layered combat system that's equal amounts of challenging and fun. Most importantly, it's an authentic DnD experience adapted flawlessly into a big-budget and polished modern CRPG that seems too good to be true in this age and date. 

Check out our in-depth Baldur's Gate 3 Review here. 

Sea of Stars

2023 was the year in which non-linear turn-based RPGs made their unabashed return on a grander scale than ever before, so much so that there was something for everyone. Where Baldur's Gate 3 filled in the void left behind by Bioware's Dragon Age: Origins, Honkai: Star Rail took notes from The Trails and Persona franchises to present an incredibly flashy yet intricate turn-based gameplay experience. As such, it only makes sense that there would be a game that takes after the RPG that started it all — Chrono Trigger. Sea of Stars turned out to be that game. 

Sea of Stars is a game that's deeply rooted in nostalgia. Whether it's the beautiful score by Chrono Trigger's Yasunori Mitsuda that captures the essence of a grand scale adventure or it's the vibrant 2D-HD art style that screams retro in all glory, Sea of Stars is a nostalgic experience made by and for people who grew up playing retro RPGs. 

For newcomers, Sea of Stars is a portal to the past in the most modern way possible. It's a multi-layered experience with an engaging narrative, satisfying combat, and a relatively shorter JRPG campaign that doesn't overstay its welcome. 

Check out our in-depth Sea of Stars Review here.

Diablo 4

Blizzard's highly successful dark-fantasy APRG franchise, Diablo, made a solid comeback this year. Diablo 4 launched as a gritty, deeply atmospheric, and surprisingly accessible APRG with more content than most live-service games at launch. It also featured the best story campaign of the series, with highly polished combat, innumerable build-crafting potential, and challenging and rewarding end-game content. 

While the content draught eventually caught up to even the most casual players in the game's latest season, Diablo 4 has the foundation to evolve into something more fun and engaging in the years to come.

Check out on in-depth Diablo 4 Review here. 

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a testament to modern open world game design. It's unfathomable how Aonuma and his team have managed to make a sequel that soars even higher than BOTW (pun intended.) 

Tears of the Kingdom is ingenuous, evolving the mere fundamentals of exploration and traversal in an open world with its fuse system. While the technical limitations of Switch do hold it back in certain areas, TOTK is easily one of the best open world games of the generation that will be looked upon for years to come. 

Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake 2 is Remedy Entertainment's magnum opus. It's not just a revolutionary sequel that was 13 years in the making. It's an accumulation of everything the studio has made in the past and everything it has been trying to portray through its games, going back all the way to the first Max Payne. 

It's a whirlwind of cinematic and narrative behemoth that transcends any particular media. It's a novel, a movie, a musical, and a horror video game all squeezed together in one big artsy package. Alan Wake 2 is truly unlike anything out there.

That wraps up our list of top 10 games of 2023. As previously mentioned, not every great game from 2023 made it to this list. It's an optionated list that doesn't consider Metacritic scores and sales. 

Since 2023 was an exceptional year in gaming, we also wanted to mention games that didn't make our list but deserved an honorable mention. 

These games are in no particular order:

• Persona 5 Tactica
• Lethal Company
• Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
• Armored Core 6
• Octopath Traveler 2
• Homestead Arcana