2023 has been a sensational year in gaming – and we're not even finished yet!
Below, we pick some of the best games of 2023 - and there are plenty more to come.
Horizon Call of the Mountain (PSVR2)
With the release of the PSVR2 earlier this year, the pressure was on Sony to prove the mettle of its brand-new virtual reality headset. But minutes into the anchor game, Call of the Mountain, you'll see Sony's vision realised.
Every inch of the environment is interactive, blurring the lines between game and reality. Dip your hands in passing water, and you'll see and hear the ripple effect. Tug at vines to see leaves fall asunder. Pick up objects with your hands and examine them like a futuristic archaeologist. These little touches bring forward a brand new way to enjoy even the simplest of game mechanics.
Call of the Mountain is just as ambitious with combat – though I recommend moving lamps, ornaments, and other breakables before playing!
Like a spritely Katniss Everdeen, you'll climb endless cliff faces and ropes, draw arrows from your back, pull and fire, and swing at the right moment to dodge enemy attacks. If you're even the slightest bit curious about this new era in VR gaming and have invested in the PSVR2, Call of the Mountain is essential.
Read our full review of Call of the Mountain here.
Hogwarts Legacy (PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
With over 15 million sales to date, it's safe to say that Hogwarts Legacy has been quite a success. Set in the 1800s, long before the events of Harry Potter, the game cleverly taps into all the nostalgia the wizarding world offers while still offering brand-new material.
You play as a young witch or wizard whose late arrival into Hogwarts as a 5th year serves as the perfect preamble to learning everything there is to do with magic. Attend a variety of classes to learn new spells, duel classmates, solve endless puzzles and riddles, and explore every crevice of the Hogwarts castle and its surrounding areas.
But your late arrival at the Castle serves an even greater purpose, as a powerful evil threatens the entire wizarding world. And with a Switch version in the works later this year, fans of all ages and platforms can have a chance to revel in one of literature's most famous castles.
Read our full review of Hogwarts Legacy here.
Final Fantasy XVI (PlayStation 5)
With a rich, dark storyline coupled with high-octane combat and an endearing cast, Final Fantasy XVI is an easy contender for Game of the Year 2023.
You play as Clive Rosfield, a nobleman of Rosaria and sworn protector to his younger brother Joshua. With a mysterious blight spreading across the land, a war between the nations of Valisthea over the world's dwindling magic seems inevitable.
When tragedy strikes, Clive is reduced to the life of an expendable slave, sent to the frontlines of battlefields. All seems lost until a chance meeting with an old friend reignites Clive's lust for redemption - and revenge.
With a gripping storyline from beginning to end, booming orchestral soundtracks, coupled with some of the most inventive boss battles found in gaming, FFXVI is a tour-de-force in next-gen gaming not to be missed.
Read our full review of Final Fantasy XVI here.
Baldur's Gate 3 (PC, PS5)
Set in the universe of Dungeons and Dragons, Baldur's Gate 3 is a revolution in creativity, storytelling, and gaming possibilities. You play as a character of your own design, picking everything from their appearance and voice to their race, subrace, class, attributes, and backgrounds.
These options have enormous ramifications for what happens in your game, affecting combat, dialogue, and how characters perceive you. Dice rolls are taken at regular intervals and add a touch of anticipation to every decision made. The game's turn-based combat makes up a sizeable part of the fun and rewards creativity and ingenuity.
Position your characters to keep them out of harm's way, set flammable objects alight to blow up enemies, dip your weapon in a variety of substances to gain an edge, or throw healing potions at injured allies to save them in the nick of time.
A multiplayer option offers the perfect excuse to start the story with new characters – where you can quest with up to three friends, vote on game decisions as a team, and recreate that classic D&D tabletop experience over hundreds of hours of content.
Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
Resident Evil 4 Remake is a ground-breaking remake of one of gaming's most beloved (and feared) titles. Playing as U.S. government special agent Leon Kennedy, your journey to rural Spain in search of the President's daughter becomes a nightmare. Unfortunately, feral villagers with axes, pitchforks, and chainsaws block your path. Delightful.
RE4 Remake will keep your adrenaline high from the offset, where even the quietest corner can turn into something more sinister at a moment's notice. You'll journey through a warren's nest of poorly lit environments, keeping one eye on your health and the other on your ammo supply.
With the camera angle off Leon's shoulder, you're given a front-row ticket to every visceral execution, bloodthirsty grapple, and chainsaw dodge. While there are some changes to the structure of the game, the integrity of the original story survives, and this game is proof of the potential remakes that can have in celebrating and redefining older material.
Read our full review of Resident Evil 4 Remake here.
Dredge (Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
Dredge is a psychological fishing game that is as strange and relaxing as you might imagine. You play as the captain of a trawler who finds themselves on a remote archipelago. As luck would have it, the mayor needs a "brave" fisherman to traverse the nearby waters. Sounds like the dream, right?
That is until night falls, and the tranquil waters you're innocently fishing in become something else entirely. There's a panic meter. You start to hallucinate. Monsters and rocks appear out of thin air. The only thing guiding you through the fog is the meek outline of the lighthouse in the distance.
While Dredge ultimately teaches you that some treasure may be best left buried, its haunting environment, compelling gameplay, and Tim Burton-esque cast of natives will tempt any gamer to brave into uncharted waters.
Read our full review of Dredge here.
Diablo IV (PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
Diablo IV is an action RPG game that is pure and utter escapism, perfectly suited for five-minute or five-hour gaming sessions. You play as your own created character and follow in the footsteps of the daughter of hatred, Lilith, to stop her plans for total world domination.
Pick between five classes, each of which promises its own sizeable talent trees for impressive customization and unique abilities. These abilities will be instrumental in guaranteeing your survival against the game's infinite supply of enemies.
At virtually every corner, you'll be swarmed by legions of skeletons, spiders, demons, and more. To survive, you'll dodge, spam abilities, and keep an eye on your dwindling potions to survive. My advice? Kill anything that moves – just to be safe.
Diablo IV has some sizeable challenges, too, including a Hardcore mode reserved for veteran players, as once your character dies – that's them out of the game. And with plenty of seasonal content already out and more planned on the horizon, now is a great time to get well-versed in one of the most beloved franchises ever.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of Kingdom (Switch)
A sequel to the critically acclaimed Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom caught the world's imagination earlier this year with its expanded storyline, inventive building system, and near-endless exploration possibilities.
You play as the iconic Link, who, together with Princess Zelda, explores a cavern beneath Hyrule castle to undercover a mysterious malignancy poisoning its people. In true Zelda fashion, these actions trigger world upheaval – propelling Link into a new heroic journey to save his world and the Princess.
You'll constantly be coaxed off main quests to explore the game's many secrets and search for new weapons, resources, and answers. An underground world, known as The Depths, effectively doubles the size of the map but is reserved for battle-hardy gamers who can manage the underground's tougher environments.
An advanced building system allows you to create everything from anything – and is, in truth, this game's secret weapon. Fashion rocket-fuelled cars and boats, flying machines, slingshots, abstract torture chambers – and much more.
Ultimately, the true magic found in Tears of the Kingdom is in the freedom it gives gamers to play, however, and in whatever way you want.
Street Fighter 6 (PS4/5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
Street Fighter 6 takes one of the most beloved franchises in gaming to a new level, offering something for newcomers and seasoned fighters alike.
World Tour, a brand new single-player open-world mode, allows you to create your own zany fighter, learn new moves, and challenge almost anyone you meet. Tutorials are cleverly disguised as side quests, as you gradually meet with the expansive cast of fighters, each of whom will teach you their signature playstyles.
But what sets this game apart is the lifeline it throws to newcomers to the series. If, like me, the thought of hitting complicated combos in quick succession has soured your experience of fighting games, fear not. With just a few button presses, simplified control options in Street Fighter 6 allow gamers of any skill level to dish out a flourish of limited combos and movesets.
The new Drive System is also an innovative combat system, allowing gamers to strategize when to pull off special moves and capitalize on their opponent's fatigue. And when all is said and done, a robust online matchmaking mode ensures there's always competition to be had as you face off against other rising champs worldwide.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
Star Wars Jedi; Survivor is a third-person action-adventure game set five years after the original title, Fallen Order. In true Star Wars fashion, the sequel is bigger and bolder in almost every way.
You play as Cal Kestis, a Jedi fugitive turned resistance fighter and one of the most-wanted men throughout the galaxy. From the offset, Cal is a highly capable Jedi Knight, and controlling him is a dream. Every lightsaber strike feels expertly executed, every push and pull from the Force god-like. A small part of you will feel sorry for those early Stormtroopers you mercilessly decapitate or push off rooftops.
But you'll soon realise the game isn't exactly a steamroll, as the Empire throws everything at you to stop you in your tracks. Paired with mesmerizing graphics and boss fights that interlace different scenes so fluidly, even the smallest skirmishes will make you feel like you're in the thick of an epic Star Wars tale.
Read our review of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor here.
