Could 2023 be the greatest year of all time for video games?

[Mikeaveli]

Look at the lineup of games that have come out:

Baldur's Gate 3
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Resident Evil 4
Street Fighter 6
Dead Space
Hi-Fi Rush
Final Fantasy XVI
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Remnant II
Octopath Traveler II
Hogwarts Legacy
System Shock
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

And the lineup of games releasing later this year:

Sea of Stars
Starfield
Lies of P
Assassin's Creed Mirage
Forza Motorsport
Lords of the Fallen
Sonic Superstars
Spider-Man 2
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Cities: Skylines 2
Ghostrunner 2
Alan Wake 2
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Persona 5 Tactica
Super Mario RPG Remake
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2

If the new games live up to their potential, could this year be the best of all time for video games? It certainly has a case imo, but you have to take into account all the problematic PC ports as well.

Click to read more...

 

[Osprey]

I dunno. There were some pretty big years in the late 90s and early 00s, as well. For example, according to Wikipedia, 44 of the games released in 2000 scored 90/100 or above. So far, only 18 of the games released in 2023 have with over half of the year over. Baldur's Gate II, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Final Fantasy IX, Quake III: Arena, The Sims, Deus Ex, Donkey Kong Country, Counter-Strike, Thief II and Diablo II were just some of the games released in 2000. 2002 was also a pretty big year, with Metroid Prime, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Grand Thief Auto: Vice City, Warcraft III, Super Mario Sunshine, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Battlefield 1942, Neverwinter Nights, Rachet & Clank, Mafia, Age of Mythology, Medieval: Total War and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, among others.

 

[Beau Knows]

I don't think so personally. There's some great games in there, but most are remakes and sequels that don't do a whole lot of new things.

I agree that some year in the late 90's/early 2000's would probably take it. There was a lot of creativity at that time as genres/subgenres were created, and the way 3D games should play was being figured out.

 

[JaegerDice]

Its got a lot of ground to cover to match 2007 both in quality and long-term impact. I still fire up games released in 2007, plus sequels to franchises that started here.

Super Mario Galaxy
Halo 3
Call of Duty 4
Bioshock
Portal (The Orange Box)
Persona 3
Rogue Galaxy
Odin Sphere
God of War 2
Guitar Hero 3
RockBand
Assassin’s Creed
Mass Effect
Crysis
Skate
Crackdown
The Witcher
WoW: The Burning Crusade
Metroid Prime 3
Forza Motorsport 2
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Virtua Fighter 5
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Jeanne d’Arc
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure
Supreme Commander
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Project Gotham Racing 4
Pokemon Pearl and Diamond
Motorstorm
DiRT
Unreal Tournament 3
Everyday Shooter
Pac-Man CE
The Darkness
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl
Lost Planet
Heavenly Sword
Blue Dragon
Lost Odyssey
Hotel Dusk
Naruto Rise of a Ninja
Stranglehold

 

[Jovavic]

Covid effect, maybe? It is about time that some of the biggest games are next gen only, finally showing off the horsepower of the hardware

 

[TheDoldrums]

1998 for my tastes

Half-Life
Metal Gear Solid
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TIme
Resident Evil 2
Xenogears
Starcraft

2001 a runner-up

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Metal Gear Solid 2
Grand Theft Auto 3
Halo
Final Fantasy X
Gran Turismo 3

But I'm in my 30's with a bias towards my childhood games, I'll admit. Half-Life and Metal Gear Solid made me see video games in a whole new way.

 

[RandV]

I don't. It's a great year overall, but really 'best all time' is about the top 3 here: Zelda, Baldur's Gate, and if it lives up to the hype Starfield. It's always hard making those lists but that seems like 3 'top 50 games all time' candidates released in one year.

After those you still have a handful of games that could be GotY candidates in weaker years, but yeah the depth of the field after that includes a lot of remakes.

 

[93LEAFS]

2001 if we got back. I think its hard to really compare modern game development. Way more studios, but projects are so long and time consuming. Of recent years, I loved 2018 since it had multiple games that are in my top 10 for the 2010s most likely (Spider-Man, God of War and RDR2).

 

[robertmac43]

In terms of modern gaming this has to be up there. 2007 and 2017 come to mind as well.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

In the last decade, i'd say it's possible.

 

[Apex Predator]

Its got a lot of ground to cover to match 2007 both in quality and long-term impact. I still fire up games released in 2007, plus sequels to franchises that started here.

Super Mario Galaxy
Halo 3
Call of Duty 4
Bioshock
Portal (The Orange Box)
Persona 3
Rogue Galaxy
Odin Sphere
God of War 2
Guitar Hero 3
RockBand
Assassin’s Creed
Mass Effect
Crysis
Skate
Crackdown
The Witcher
WoW: The Burning Crusade
Metroid Prime 3
Forza Motorsport 2
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Virtua Fighter 5
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Jeanne d’Arc
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure
Supreme Commander
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Project Gotham Racing 4
Pokemon Pearl and Diamond
Motorstorm
DiRT
Unreal Tournament 3
Everyday Shooter
Pac-Man CE
The Darkness
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl
Lost Planet
Heavenly Sword
Blue Dragon
Lost Odyssey
Hotel Dusk
Naruto Rise of a Ninja
Stranglehold

That’s a solid list of games that came out!

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

2004 and 2007 are my personal favourites. 2004 with the slight edge:

 

[Shareefruck]

I have the biggest disconnect with these types of suggestions, personally, because videogames are so hit or miss for me in general. Like sure, that's an impressive list of big-name games that seem to be pretty acclaimed, but personally, I got a lot more out of last year than this year so far, and was way more enthusiastic about what was coming out in general.

Most of these either don't interest me or underwhelmed me when I tried them (Always found Octopath to be awful, found FFXVI really disappointing despite big interest, am one of those weird people who don't like Breath of the Wild/OG RE4/the first Spiderman, so I can't imagine those winning me over). The System Shock remake was pretty cool, but Street Fighter 6 is the only one that truly won me over and that I think is really fantastic, personally.

Meanwhile, last year, I thought Tunic, Elden Ring, Sifu, and Citizen Sleeper all seemed pretty damn incredible, and Tactics Ogre Reborn ended up being one of my top 3 favorite games of all time, so that to me was a fantastic year.

I might be able to see it if Armored Core VI (which I haven't seen anything of) is considered as good as the other FromSoft games, but from reviews, I don't really get that impression.

 

[RandV]

Most of these either don't interest me or underwhelmed me when I tried them (Always found Octopath to be awful, found FFXVI really disappointing despite big interest, am one of those weird people who don't like Breath of the Wild/OG RE4/the first Spiderman, so I can't imagine those winning me over). The System Shock remake was pretty cool, but Street Fighter 6 is the only one that truly won me over and that I think is really fantastic, personally.

I haven't played either yet but looking at user reviews hasn't Octopath Traveller 2 fixed a lot of the issues the first had? I was initially excited for the first one, but it took a good while to come out on Steam, the price is ridiculous and never comes down, and critical reviews point out some flaws that kind of put me off it. The followup though from what I've read is definitely on my list to play at some point.

 

[Shareefruck]

I haven't played either yet but looking at user reviews hasn't Octopath Traveller 2 fixed a lot of the issues the first had? I was initially excited for the first one, but it took a good while to come out on Steam, the price is ridiculous and never comes down, and critical reviews point out some flaws that kind of put me off it. The followup though from what I've read is definitely on my list to play at some point.

I've heard this as well, but I have pretty strong doubts about that narrative, personally. Maybe this is unfair, but my impression of that entire development team is that they seem to just give people what they want and follow a checklist of what a type of thing ought to have, but have pretty lame creative sensibilities themselves. Everybody said the same thing about Triangle Strategy fixing all the problems that Octopath 1's narrative had, and having all this depth and complexity that it was lacking, but I thought the storytelling and execution was still pretty similarly lacking, personally, despite successfully checking off boxes of elements of things that I "tend" to love and did in Tactics Ogre, its main influence. I suspect that that set of projects just has very skin-deep appeal in general, personally.

Now, maybe Octopath II bucks that trend and is the exception, but for now, I'm finding that hard to believe.

 

[KingsHockey24]

The real GOTY:

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

No, but definitely the best year in a long while

 

[Mogo]

Battlebit Remastered is the only game i've bought this year and it owns...


oh wait..

I did get Diablo 4. What a dissapointment ...

 

[x Tame Impala]

Battlebit Remastered is the only game i've bought this year and it owns...


oh wait..

I did get Diablo 4. What a dissapointment ...

I was going to say how I don’t know how anyone gives Blizzard money anymore but then I remembered I chump out for EA NHL games every single year like a total simp so I can’t blame ya dude

The real GOTY:

I heard this game is fun as f*** actually if you play with friends

 

[Mogo]

I was going to say how I don’t know how anyone gives Blizzard money anymore but then I remembered I chump out for EA NHL games every single year like a total simp so I can’t blame ya dude


I heard this game is fun as f*** actually if you play with friends

Diablo's are the only Blizzard games I've ever played. I loved 1-2 and even 3 for about 1000 hours