I don’t have much to say about 2023, other than commenting on its surreal nature. After spending over six months waiting for the OK to start my job, I received my clearance and was subsequently let go a few weeks later. Then, I spent the rest of the year looking for new work! Thankfully, I found something even better than my previous position: as of this writing, I’m fully employed again. But I couldn’t have done it without Six, Kyrie, the Patreon backers that made it possible to cover games while unemployed…and you. Yes, you, the person reading this. Knowing you’re out there, interested in what I have to say, makes all the effort I put into writing, podcasts, live streams and more worthwhile!
Anyway, my GOTY list for 2023 is something of an outlier. It started as a Top 10 like usual…but I found myself at a loss for games 10 through 6. At a certain point, it even felt like I was stretching just to reach the number count this year. Why else would Resident Evil 4’s remake, a solid but disappointing time, sneak its way onto the 8th spot? Instead of padding the list to fill the format, I’d rather change the format entirely.
For the first time in a while, I’m writing a Top 5, rather than a Top 10. It may be a shorter list than usual, but I can assure you: every one of these 5 games has it where it counts. Whether they’re flexing their storytelling chops or presenting a brand-new standard for retro re-releases, I’ll be thinking about each and every one of these for quite some time.
5. Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
For the second year in a row, Square-Enix kicked things off with a beautifully-produced, barely-advertised mystery adventure! And what an adventure it is: you’re swapping between the perspectives of multiple curse-bearers, each capable of ending another person’s life if specific conditions are met, doing your best to untangle the Hows and Whys of this morbid affair.
Despite being a horror game, the writers give each protagonist ample charm, and the puzzles themselves are something to behold. Yes, the solution could be in your inventory or the environment around you, but a mid-game trip to the Options menu can be far more useful than you might expect. Even when some of the later puzzles are too obtuse for their own good, its insistence on thinking outside the box never grows old. And at 8-12 hours, it’s the perfect length for a weekend spent bundled up in bed, unraveling one thread after the other!
It pains me to know that 2023 will be the last year Square-Enix gifts us all a winter surprise: through the tail end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, the company has been steadfast in its (errant) belief that too many small-scale games were the cause of their financial woes. Taken together, 2022’s The Centennial Case and 2023’s Paranormasight form the side of Square-Enix I fell in love with. I only wish we had a ghost of a chance to see even more adventures along these lines.
4. The Making of Karateka
“Holy shit.” That’s all I could think when I first saw Digital Eclipse announcing their brand-new Gold Master Series, kicking things off with The Making of Karateka. Sure, they had produced something very similar with their lovely Atari 50 collection, but giving that same care and attention to a single game? That’s new. That’s bold. That’s brilliant.
The Making of Karateka plays out like an interactive documentary, taking you through Jordan Mechner’s earlier days as a (copyright-infringing) student developer, all the way to Karateka’s release and re-release. And because Mechner had an unusually fastidious approach to his life, journaling nearly everything about his life, you’re presented with a genuine treasure trove of behind-the-scenes artifacts. Watch the Super-8 footage of his family members, and the rotoscoped frames that brought Karateka’s fighters to life. Listen to a short podcast that dives into the game’s score, explaining how it mirrors the on-screen story. Hell, why not read a fan letter from a young John Romero, geeking out over Mechner’s technical wizardry?
Of course, Karateka and its ports run perfectly here, with Digital Eclipse even throwing in their own remake as an extra. But it’s the supplementary material around these ports that make them a joy to play! After poring through Jordan Mechner’s journal entries, listening to the stories from family and development partners alike, I felt like I was playing more than a game. I was playing history itself. And I hope this is just the first of many, many more Gold Master entries to come, helping me understand this medium’s history better than a bucket of context-free ROMs ever could.
3. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code
It’s been years since Danganronpa V3 wrapped up the killing games for good (at least until Spike Chunsoft decides they’ll make another sequel themselves), but if Rain Code is any indication, Kazutaka Kodaka and friends still have the talent to craft harrowing murder mysteries. Yes, it runs like shit (I’m not even going to blame the Switch, as plenty of developers can still wring power from the aging handheld), and no, this likely won’t win you over if Danganronpa left a bad taste in your mouth. But as a girl who has multiple Hope’s Peak cosplays in her closet? This game nearly hit it out of the park.
With an eclectic cast of bastards and geniuses (and bastardly geniuses), Rain Code has more than enough flavor to match its bear-y stylish predecessor. The city itself is a character in its own right: you can learn so much about this eternally raining metropolis just from looking at the way people dress on their way to work, or the complicated ways in which it keeps the roads from flooding. And since each murder no longer takes place in an isolated high school, it takes full advantage of its newfound freedom, throwing some real curveballs into the investigation process!
I don’t have enough good things to say about Rain Code. With any luck, it’ll get ported to a more powerful system in 2024: I’m dying to see what it looks like without the immense slowdown!
2. The Talos Principle II
I’m kicking myself for not giving this game its due during the Gimmick Awards! The Talos Principle II outdoes itself with a new, ambitious structure, turning each puzzle-filled island into its own brain teaser. More importantly, it’s the rare sequel that addresses my own complaints directly: rather than reading a computer terminal debate Philosophy 101 with itself, you’re surrounded by androids questioning what should happen with their post-human society (or rather, their society as the new “humans”).
I wouldn’t blame you if this sounds like more of a sidegrade than a solution. But this new context is a significant step up. While most of the first game’s philosophical questions were presented as lectures, or bottom of the barrel “makes you think” observations, these questions are now being asked by people whose very way of life may change depending on the answers. They snap blurry photos for social media. They care for their cats. In other words, they feel real.
It goes without saying, but the puzzles themselves are absolute bangers, consistently challenging your perspective of each tool at your disposal. It’d be a bit weird to put a shit puzzle game in my #2 slot on a Game of the Year list, wouldn’t it? With a beautiful combination of challenging brainteasers and a lovable cast, The Talos Principle II has already secured a well-earned spot on my list of favorite adventure games. Now, if only the talented developers at Croteam could also revitalize Serious Sam while they’re at it…
1. Alan Wake II
For anyone who’s known me for more than five minutes, you already knew this was coming. I’m a long-time Remedy fan: their pulpy third-person shooters, over-the-top writing and extensive use of full-motion video make them easy to love, even when the shooting itself misses the mark (looking at you, Control). And since it’s easy to root for an underdog, Alan Wake has always had a special place in my heart. They managed to spin something unforgettable out of an especially-troubled project. Even when poor sales turned it into an unattractive proposition, they never stopped trying to make Alan Wake II a reality.
After thirteen long, painful years of waiting, Alan Wake II finally surfaced from the bottom of Cauldron Lake. And what followed…oh hell, I can’t hold my effusive praise back any longer! It’s a masterpiece. A jaw-dropping achievement. A game with such metatextual depth and craft that it lives in your brain. And wow, is it ever a home run for Remedy. It’s everything they’ve been working towards for years, a game that could only come from a studio that loves genre fiction to death.
Above all else, Alan Wake II is a statement. Finnish musicians, actors, writers and developers all worked in concert to make this a reality, best exemplified by Bright Falls morphing into a tight knit Finnish community for the sequel. Up until now, Remedy’s games have been a love letter to American pulp, starring American cops, authors and scientists, running through American landscapes. By centering the culture of Remedy’s own country, Alan Wake II boldly declares that their imagination is so much larger than their American influences. And after witnessing Remedy soaring to their greatest highs yet, I can’t wait to see where they take us next.
