The top 10 games of 2023 according to Post Arcade

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I gained eight pounds this year and I blame it entirely on the video game industry supplying me with a bounty of absolutely delightful role-playing games. I spent endless hours on my couch engaged in quests scattered from the mountains of Hyrule to the dunes of Mars, and I have the butt and belly to prove it.

Not that I’m complaining. From sequels in storied RPG franchises to completely original games destined to be the inaugural entries in brand new series, I was never left wanting for something fun to play in 2023. 

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And I’ve still got plenty of playing to do. So let’s get down to business so that I can settle back into my tuchus-shaped couch cushion.

10. Fire Emblem Engage (Switch)

It’s not the best Fire Emblem game ever made, but it’s not far off. Developer Intelligent Systems leverages the franchise’s storied history by bringing back a handful of beloved characters — hey there, Marth, nice to see you again, Edelgard! — from previous games as spiritual advisers capable of unlocking powerful abilities in any of the new characters who wear their rings. The rest of the game is Fire Emblem by the books, including some great chess-like turn-based strategy, permanent death when your beloved heroes die in combat, and some adorably melodramatic dialogue and storytelling. I could (and did) play all day. 

9. Sea of Stars (Switch, Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X)

Old school RPG nerds are in for a treat with this one. Quebec City-based Sabotage Studio takes everything that fans of early ’90s RPGs adore — turn-based battles, maze-like maps, colourful characters, and pixel art — and uses modern technology and game design techniques to enhance them. Environments and character models pop with vibrant hues, and battles incorporate real-time inputs and complex strategy. And the music accompanying our loveable little heroes on their world-saving quest of self discovery will be floating around between your ears long after you put down your controller.

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8. Diablo IV (Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X)

It’s far from the most innovative game of the year, but players looking for an exquisitely produced, finely tweaked dungeon crawler will be in heaven playing Blizzard’s years-in-the-making fourth entry in its genre-defining fantasy series. The hacking and slashing action is pure zen for fans of this sort of thing, and the sugar on top is a series of intense and jaw-dropping narrative cutscenes dropped throughout the campaign that left me wishing the writers and animators would just make a Diablo movie already.

7. Alan Wake 2 (Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X)

Remedy’s long-awaited sequel to its 2010 horror hit is without question the most daringly original blockbuster game of the year. It tells a sophisticated, self-referential story packed with terrifying sequences. My head was left spinning on more than one occasion. The real treat here, though, is a handful of wildly creative, brilliantly dynamic scenes that have you doing things like wandering through an endless heavy metal video that combines live action film with CGI. Had the level design been just a smidge less confusing — my suspension of disbelief was sometimes ruined because I couldn’t figure out where to go or what to do next — this one would have been even higher on the list.

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6. Pikmin 4 (Switch)

The long awaited fourth instalment in Nintendo’s series about tiny space people commanding armies of sentient flora to run around and collect garbage in gardens doesn’t significantly alter a formula that’s always been pretty much perfect. It does refine things a bit, giving us a big yellow dog we can ride to get around more quickly, and adds a few novelties, like short collection and battle challenges that will put even veteran Pikmin players’ skills to the test. But in general it just relies on the weird yet undeniable gratification that comes from sending groups of cute little flowers off to break down barriers, bat their petals at ladybugs and lug treasures back to an adorably retro rocket ship.

5. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PlayStation 5)

In my original review I called this the feel-good game of the decade, and I stand by that assessment. It’s a super fun superhero game full of web-slinging high jinks and acrobatic action. But, more than that, it’s a collection of beautifully interwoven progressive, inclusive and optimistic storylines that explore friendship, forgiveness, acceptance and redemption. If your cheeks don’t ache from smiling after playing then you’re probably a robot.

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4. Final Fantasy XVI (PlayStation 5, Windows)

Square Enix does a fine job combining old and new in this lengthy fantasy RPG. Series fans will appreciate the familiar musical refrains and the combat, while real-time rather than turn-based, is loaded with the sort of massive and memorable bosses for which the franchise is renowned. But the Japanese developer has also embraced a deliciously dark and adult vibe, filling the story with the sort of complex (sometimes sexual) relationships and rivalries more common in something like Game of Thrones. I ate it up. It was the shortest 60 hours I spent with any game all year.

3. Starfield (Windows, Xbox Series S/X)

Were I to be given a studio full of talented developers employed to do my bidding, the game I’d have them make would probably look a lot like Starfield, a sprawling sci-fi RPG that lets you build your own ships and outposts, explore a galaxy packed with planets both welcoming and inhospitable, and work your way through a tangle of intriguing storylines that cover everything from aliens to artificial intelligence. It’s far from perfect — there’s plenty of bugs and a few too many repetitive battles — but it scratches my space opera itch in deeply satisfying fashion.

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2. Baldur’s Gate 3 (Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X)

All other games that attempt to replicate the real world D&D experience pale in comparison to Larian Studios’ wildly ambitious Baldur’s Gate 3. They’ve given us dungeon master-style narration, a nigh limitless array of options of what you can do in any given situation and a dynamic story that can change dramatically based on your decisions. It even shows players dice throws for skill checks rather than hiding them within the game’s code — a great way to up the tension when trying to intimidate a foe or crack a tough lock. If it suffered just a couple fewer glitches and had a slightly more intuitive interface it might have climbed its way to the very top of this list.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)

It’s everything that made The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild one of the best games ever made — brilliantly emergent play, challenging shrines and a painterly art style — set on a massive free-to-explore map that goes beyond Hyrule’s surface to stretch into the heavens and burrow deep underground. It also adds the ability to build just about anything you want, from spotlights and catapults to hot air balloons and fire-spewing tanks, to solve puzzles, fight tough enemies and get to hard to reach places. No two players will have even close to the same experience during the 100-plus hours they spend with it. A most deserving game of the year.

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