Let's talk about the games of 2023!

     Hey friends, it has been a busy year, not only for me personally, but also for the games release schedule. There have been so many good games coming out almost every month that it has been really hard to play everything that I've wanted to, and that's a sentiment that I've heard across the board. Today I would like to talk about the great games that I've played this year, though I'm sure there are quite a few that I'll forget, just because of the vast number of them out there. I'll give it my best shot, and I hope that you'll enjoy this little retrospective of the past year as we talk a bit about each of them!

So many games, so little time...

    Now, I'm not going to go through this list of highlights in any sort of chronological way, so I'm just going to go through this as I remember each game. I'll start with a fun one, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line! I love rhythm games that focus on iconic soundtracks, and boy, there are some incredible tracks in the Final Fantasy series. My brother and I played this game in pair mode for basically the whole game, and we had a great time, both reminiscing about how much we liked the games that we had played, and also talking about the games that we would like to go back and play in the future, just based on the music. On top of just playing the awesome music tracks, it was a lot of fun to test out different team compositions to maximize the damage against whatever enemies the game threw. That was really necessary to finish all of the special quests in the series quest mode, and it felt really good when we finally completed all of them. If you like rhythm games, definitely check Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line out, it's a great time.

    Early on in the year, I rented Marvel's Midnight Suns, and while I didn't play all the way through it (because I just rented it), I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would! Typically deck-building games and strategy games are not really my thing, but the combat was interesting and satisfying enough to hold my attention. The characters all have cool skills, and it feels great to figure out what characters worked well together. On top of that, though, I felt like this is one of the cooler and more personal experiences with the Marvel characters, allowing for lots of different dialogue options to play as your self-insert character in the way that you want. It's always just nice to see well known characters like Spider-Man interacting with some lesser known characters, like Magik or Blade. There's a lot of heart in this game, and I feel like it didn't sell very well, but I definitely want to pick it up to finish it up really soon, I really enjoyed what I played.

    I can't talk about all of the games that I played this year, or we would be here all day. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was of course one of the biggest games of the year, and while it wasn't quite as wildly original as Breath of the Wild, since it reused the same map and felt like more of the same in some ways, it was still amazing just how much was tweaked here. When I wrote about this game earlier in the year, I related it to Super Mario Galaxy vs. Super Mario Galaxy 2, where it's more of the same, but there are so many wild ideas and cool mechanics at work that they didn't fit in the first game that it does feel different, playing with a whole new set of tools. It's such a cool game, and I was really worried when I saw how ambitious the vehicle crafting system was, I didn't think this would really be a game for me, but I played a lot of this game earlier in the year, and it's a fantastic time, a must play for this year, as long as you're okay with a massive open world like this one. I know there are many who don't like this style of game, which is fine, I know there are only a few games like this that I've really been able to sink my teeth into, but there is enough Zelda here that I liked it, also the Fuse mechanic was just so cool.

    Two games came out on the same day in October, and I guess I'll talk about them for a little while here. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder came out to pretty massive fanfare, and for good reason. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was really more of the same great gameplay that came from Insomniac's last few Spider-Man games, with a few new tweaks that make the game flow even faster in both traversal and combat, making it so that you don't have to deal with the whole gadget wheel that was a little overwhelming in the first two games, to the point that I didn't use many of the gadgets that were picked up later in the game. The two different Spider-Men have different powers (which have at least two versions) in addition to their gadgets, as well as Ultimate attacks that are added on as the story goes along. The new gameplay innovations that have been added along with the story make for a really great time, the latest in a long line of great games by Insomniac.

     Super Mario Bros. Wonder was a very different game, definitely much less story driven, being a 2D platformer instead of an open world game like Spider-Man, but even that is more story driven than the standard Mario game. The 2D Mario games have felt a bit stale for a little while, during the New Super Mario Bros. era, especially. I'm so happy to say that the trend of those is over, thanks to the wild originality of the gameplay ideas that pop up in every level of Super Mario Bros. Wonder with the Wonder Flowers. There are so many creative ideas that this is the kind of game that reminds you that Nintendo is still just as wacky and creative as they used to be, trying to revolutionize the game as they always have. On top of the creativity of the Wonder Flower, you can play as Daisy this time around, along with several other characters that aren't often playable in the 2D space. That's a pretty big deal! It isn't very difficult, which could be a downside for more hardcore players, but it definitely helps to scratch the itch of someone wanting to play a really solid 2D Platformer, even if they haven't played one in a while.

    These are just a few of my recommendations from this year, friends, and honestly, there are so many that I loved that I could go on for a lot longer, but I really don't want to trail on too long this time. I would be wrong if I didn't list a few of the other great games that I've played this year before I wrap this up though. Spongebob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake (fun but short), Powerwash Simulator, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, Resident Evil 4 Remake, God of War Ragnarok's Valhalla DLC (which I love so far), Pikmin 4 (please play the game), and of course, Super Mario RPG's remake was just the icing on the cake. So many incredible games came out this year, and the people involved deserve all of the honor and respect in the world. Thank you all so much for what you do. I know I'm just a very small blogger, but I thank you for all of the time and effort you put into all of these games. This has been a hard year for so many in the industry, but I truly hope your next year will bring about some new amazing opportunities for you who have proven yourselves among the best.

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends. I know it's a lot to talk about so many different games here, and I probably didn't do them justice for the most part, but I hope that something I've said today will stick with you, and maybe inspire you to play one of the games on this list. I hope that you've had a great year, and I hope you'll continue to support me into the new year as well. I love writing new things for you all every week, and I so appreciate the kind words that I've heard from several who enjoy my blog. It really means a lot, so thank you all so much. I'm Jonathan, a Self-Proclaimed Supporter, and I'll talk to you again very soon. Happy New Year, friends. I hope you have your best one yet.