If you’ve followed the gaming industry at all, you’ve probably heard at least a few times that this year has been absolutely jam-packed with quality releases.
First, we got brand-new entries in juggernaut franchises like Zelda, Mario, Spider-Man, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter and Diablo. Other old series, like Baldur’s Gate, also achieved record-high popularity this year, and that’s to say nothing of new IP, like Starfield, Bethesda Game Studios’ epic foray into sci-fi. Meanwhile, indie darlings like Dave the Diver, Cocoon and the Canadian-made Sea of Stars and Venba impressed with their ingenuity. If we’re going purely by Metacritic scores, 2023 actually had the highest-rated gaming lineup of the past 20 years, if you can believe it.
And yet, 2023 was also a markedly awful year for the people who actually make these games. Across the industry, we saw thousands of layoffs at some of the biggest companies, including PlayStation’s Naughty Dog (The Last of Us) and Media Molecule (Dreams), Microsoft’s 343 Industries (Halo Infinite) and The Coalition (the Vancouver team behind Gears 5), CD Projekt (Cyberpunk 2077), EA’s BioWare Edmonton (Mass Effect), Epic Games (Fortnite) and London, Ontario’s Digital Extremes (Warframe). Job cuts even struck Hasbro staff who worked on Baldur’s Gate 3, the highest-rated game of the year (alongside Tears of the Kingdom) and multi-Game of the Year winner. Based on a tracker created by technical artist Farhan Noor, it’s estimated that a staggering 9,000-plus developers lost their jobs throughout the year.
That these layoffs come despite widespread critical success — not to mention the roughly $250 billion USD (about $341 billion CAD) in revenue the industry is expected to generate this year — makes it even more depressing. Therefore, it admittedly feels a bit strange — dystopian, even — to be celebrating the gaming year amid such developer turmoil.
Nonetheless, we want to at least play a small part in honouring the people who regularly have to go through these sorts of struggles to give us such wonderful art, especially when this month’s The Game Awards ceremony failed to properly do that. So, we go forward with this list not ignoring what’s happened, but rather, aiming to highlight the magnificent work that occurred in spite of it.
Without further ado, here are MobileSyrup‘s top 10 games of 2023.
10. Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Image credit: Capcom
Developer/publisher: Capcom
Genre: Survival horror, action
Given how beloved Resident Evil 4 is to so many people, there was no guarantee a remake would turn out well, especially considering the reportedly significant overhaul it underwent a few years ago. And yet, Capcom more than understood the assignment, delivering a phenomenal experience that’s respectably faithful on the whole to the original RE4 (most importantly, retaining that B-movie charm) but also unafraid to make meaningful changes where needed. Characters like Leon and especially Ashley are given much more depth and nuance, particularly thanks to Nick Apostolides and Edmonton-born Genevieve Buechner’s well-rounded performances, while chapters that once dragged (looking at you, island section) are much better-paced this time around. All of this is built on the gorgeous RE Engine visuals that powered the modern Resident Evil remakes, satisfyingly punchy combat that features greater versatility for your knife and, best of all, a much smarter AI-controlled Ashley who’s far less of a damsel-in-distress this time around. Hopefully, Resident Evil 5 and/or Code Veronica get this level of remake treatment next.
Resident Evil 4 is available on the PS4 ($64.99), the PS5 ($69.99), the Xbox Series X/S ($64.99) and PC ($39.99).
9. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Image credit: Nintendo
Developer/publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Platformer
Not counting Wii U-era ports or the create-your-own-stages-focused Mario Maker titles, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the first brand-new 2D Mario game in over 10 years. Thankfully, it lives up to those expectations, and then some thanks to the almost overwhelming amount of creativity on display. In one corner, you have inventive new power-ups like the Elephant Fruit (leading to internet fan-favourite Elephant Mario, who can smash through blocks and spray water), and in the other, there are Wonder Flowers that dramatically alter stages through everything from snake-like warp pipes and striking moonlight silhouettes to Goomba stealth sections and entire musical numbers. Meanwhile, approachable features like ability-boosting badges, Dark Souls-esque assistive asynchronous multiplayer features and well-implemented co-op and competitive modes open up this Wonder-ful experience to everyone.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is available on the Nintendo Switch ($79.99).
8. Sea of Stars 🇨🇦
Image credit: Sabotage Studio
Developer/publisher: Sabotage Studio
Genre: RPG
Nostalgia-driven throwback games are all the rage nowadays, but Quebec City-based Sabotage (2018’s fantastic Ninja Gaiden-esque The Messenger) does them better than most. Drawing from a childhood love of RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Mario & Luigi, writer-director Thierry Boulanger led his small but incredibly talented team to create a brilliant mash-up of genre conventions (turn-based combat, grand save-the-world adventures) with welcome modern flourishes (no random encounters or grinding, more vertical level design). Layer all of that on magnificent SNES-style pixel art and a stellar soundtrack from The Messenger‘s Eric W. Brown and Chrono composer Yasunori Mitsuda and you have what’s easily one of the most all-around enjoyable games of the year.
Sea of Stars is available on the PS4 ($46.99), the PS5 ($46.99), the Xbox Series X/S ($44.99), the Nintendo Switch ($44.99) and PC ($44.99).
7. Venba 🇨🇦
Image credit: Visai Games
Developer/publisher: Visai Games
Genre: Narrative cooking
Often, stories about immigrant families are told from the perspective of children, like Never Have I Ever or Turning Red. Toront-based Visai, however, commendably wanted to focus on what immigration means for the parents. Enter Venba, an achingly beautiful exploration of a South Indian mother’s efforts to preserve her heritage while raising a son in Toronto with her husband. Through approachable cooking mechanics centred around delicious Tamil cuisine, players will learn about the many sacrifices people like Venba have to make to give their families a better life, and it makes for a deeply moving — and wholly unique — gaming experience.
Venba is available on the PS4 ($15.99), the PS5 ($15.99), the Xbox One ($16.99), the Xbox Series X/S ($16.99), the Nintendo Switch ($16.99) and PC ($16.99).
6. Final Fantasy XVI
Image credit: Square Enix
Developer/publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Action-RPG
It’s not easy to reinvent an iconic 35-plus-year-old series, but Final Fantasy XVI does so with aplomb. That starts with Creative Business Unit III, the celebrated team behind Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, which leverages its world-class storytelling skills to bestow XVI with a compellingly gritty Game of Thrones-inspired dark fantasy narrative. While the story admittedly loses steam towards the end, an all-star cast of characters led by the fierce yet surprisingly tender nobleman Clive Rosfield (a sensational Ben Starr) keeps you invested towards the end. It doesn’t hurt that the action-heavy combat, spearheaded by Devil May Cry 5 designer Ryota Suzuki, is gloriously flashy and punchy, while the boss fights — many of which feature Kaiju-sized creatures squaring off in utterly jaw-dropping setpieces — are some of the best in recent memory. Oh, and that Game Awards-winning score from XIV composer Masayoshi Soken! We’ll be listening to those bangers for quite some time.
Final Fantasy XVI is available on the PS5 ($93.49).
5. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Image credit: PlayStation
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Action-adventure
As a game that juggles two playable Spider-Men, villains like Kraven the Hunter and Venom and many more side characters, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 shouldn’t work on paper. Thanks to the likes of Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man fans are all too familiar with stories overstuffed with characters and plot threads. And yet, Insomniac was more than up to the task, weaving an emotionally-charged yarn that does justice not only to Peter Parker and Miles Morales, but their supporting cast and the people of New York as a whole. All the while, Spider-Man 2 offers up some of the best traversal in gaming (shoutout to the thrilling new web wings), the visceral power fantasy of the symbiote and personal and heartfelt slice-of-life sidequests. (We dare you to try playing the Howard mission without tearing up).
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is available on the PS5 ($89).
4. Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Image credit: Square Enix
Developer: Xeen
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Visual novel
Perhaps the most slept-on game on this list, Paranormasight is one of the best visual novels in years. Throughout its tight 10- to 12-hour runtime, the game follows an eclectic cast of characters who are tied to a mysterious string of murders in a small Tokyo ward. It’s a gripping story that explores the surprisingly sympathetic motivations behind each person of interest vying for the cursed artifacts behind the deaths, using the uniquely interactive medium of gaming in some truly inventive — and even meta — ways. If that weren’t enough, Paranormasight just oozes style thanks to astounding character art, Hidenori Iwasaki’s magnificent, genre-blending soundtrack and an positively haunting atmosphere. You’ll never think of old CRT TVs the same way again.
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is available on the Nintendo Switch ($26.99), PC ($18.89), Android ($12.99) and iOS ($17.99).
3. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Image credit: Nintendo
Developer/publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Action-adventure
Leave it to Nintendo to somehow top The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, one of the most beloved games of all time, with another monumental achievement. While some people took issue with Tears of the Kingdom using the same world map, that ultimately proved to be an incredibly smart decision, as it allowed Nintendo to completely change how you interact with it. With the new runes, you can build everything from cars and hot air balloons to giant airships and even a Metal Gear. These remarkably intuitive systems coalesce beautifully, allowing you to venture across Hyrule’s underground caverns, surface-level terrain and floating islands — which, in some sort of miracle, all run quite smoothly on the six-year-old Switch — and find your own inventive solutions to puzzles. Zelda as a concept originally came from Shigeru Miyamoto’s childhood fascination with the wilderness around him, so what better way to encapsulate that sense of wonder and discovery than by letting players use the open-ended mechanics of the game to explore Hyrule in any way they can dream up?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on the Nintendo Switch ($89.99).
2. Alan Wake 2
Image credit: Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Publisher: Epic Games
Genre: Survival horror
After 13 years, cult-classic Alan Wake has finally gotten a sequel, and it’s somehow even better than fans could have imagined. Indeed, Alan Wake 2 is Remedy just firing on all cylinders, expertly blending the neo-noir style of Max Payne, Lynchian supernatural trappings of Control and prolonged live-action cutscenes of Quantum Break to create a genre-bending experience unlike any other. In one moment, you’re facing deranged cultists in an eerie rundown amusement park as FBI agent Saga Anderson, and in the next, you’re piloting Alan Wake through an absolutely insane musical psychodrama that mixes real-time combat and exploration with a head-bopping rock ballad. It’s rare to see a game with such high production values take such bold — and ultimately successful — creative swings, and Remedy deserves so much praise for all of it.
Note: We’d be remiss not to mention James McCaffrey, long-time Remedy actor on games like Max Payne, Control and Alan Wake 2, who sadly passed away this month. It was always such a delight to discover what interesting new role he had in each of Remedy’s games, with his turn in Alan Wake 2 as the Max Payne-like gravelly-voiced detective, Alex Casey, being a particular highlight. RIP to a huge talent.
Alan Wake 2 is available on the PS5 ($79.99), the Xbox Series X/S ($47.99) and PC ($53.59).
1. Baldur’s Gate 3
Image credit: Larian Studios
Developer/publisher: Larian Studios
Genre: RPG
Nothing took the gaming world by storm in 2023 quite like Baldur’s Gate 3. Throughout a lengthy development cycle that included a three-year early access period, Belgian studio Larian meticulously built upon the foundation of BioWare Edmonton‘s seminal Baldur’s Gate games to create a truly unforgettable experience. Using a 20-sided die, Baldur’s Gate 3 perfectly encapsulates the feeling of whimsy, wonder and, yes, chaos that can come from a Dungeons & Dragons game. Larian’s masterpiece is simply breathtaking in scope, offering countless paths to take — all immaculately well-written and acted — that dramatically shake up each play session. The breadth of interconnected systems, which include robust character customization, multi-faceted progression and dynamic combat options, all coalesce to keep you hooked for well over 100 hours, and that’s before you hop into the impressively well-implemented co-op.
Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t just the best game of 2023 — it’s one of the greatest games of all time.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available for the PS5 ($93.49), Xbox Series X/S ($89.99) and PC ($79.99).
Honourable mentions: Cocoon, Lies of P, Hi-Fi Rush, Octopath Traveler II, Pikmin 4, Season: A Letter to the Future, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Street Fighter 6, Thirsty Suitors
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Image credit: Shutterstock, PlayStation, Larian Studios, Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games, Square Enix, Sabotage Studio, Nintendocli
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