2023 Games of the Year

[Charles Scholz]

The Game Awards 2023: Complete Winners List
Game of the Year - Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Best Game Direction - Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Best Adaptation - The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO)
Best Narrative - Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Best Art Direction - Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Best Score and Music - Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix)
Best Audio Design - Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
Best Performance - Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3
Innovation in Accessibility - Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
Games for Impact - Tchia (Awaceb/Kepler Interactive)
Best Ongoing Game - Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
Best Community Support - Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Best Independent Game - Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
Best Debut Indie Game - Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive)
Best Mobile Game - Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse)
Best VR/AR Game - Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)
Best Action Game - Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Best Action/Adventure Game - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best RPG - Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Best Fighting Game - Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Best Family Game - Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Sim/Strategy Game - Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Sports/Racing - Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
Best Multiplayer Presented by Discord - Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Players’ Voice - Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Most Anticipated Game - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Content Creator of the Year - IronMouse
Best Esports Game - Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete - Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends)
Best Esports Team - JD Gaming (League of Legends)
Best Esports Coach - Christine “potter” Chi (Evil Geniuses – Valorant)
Best Esports Event - 2023 League of Legends World Championship

[magnuskn]

I'm probably one of the few people who found Baldur's Gate 3 quite a bit overrated.

[Charles Scholz]

Played about 8 hours, not very impressed.
Maybe it will grow on me the more I play.

[captain yesterday]

I have it but I haven't played it yet.

I feel the year in general was pretty overrated for video games, but that might be because I finally beat Elden Ring this year, and then beat it againon new game +, and I'm pretty close to beating it on my third try (though on an Xbox this time).

So I might be a bit biased.

[captain yesterday]

As far as games I've played from this year, Spider-Man 2 is probably the best, followed up by (in no particular order) Armored Core 6, Dead Space remake, Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty, and Sea of Stars, Harry Potter, Lies of P, Jedi Survivor, Diablo 4, and Lords of the Fallen.

All great games but nothing I'd consider generational like Elden Ring.

Starfield sucks but it's hard to be disappointed with it since it gave me the flimsy excuse I needed to get an Xbox Series X (which came with a copy of Diablo 4).

[Werthead]

Baldur's Gate III was a well-deserving winner. The combination of traditional RPG mechanics with modern production values was hugely compelling, even if, strictly speaking, many other Gatelikes had better stories or mechanics or both (Pillars of Eternity 2, the two Pathfinder games from Owlcat, Tyranny).

Basically, any game where you can interrupt a villain's long monologue to yeet him into lava is going to get a round of applause from me.

Alan Wake 2 was outrageously good as well. The rotating between the two protagonists, the mechanics allowing newcomers to get onboard without any familiarity with the first game (which has aged middlingly, being generous), the excellent voice acting, the ludicrous graphics (the first time a game has actually tricked my brain into seeing it as photorealistic, at least in certain areas/lighting conditions) and the "walking around inside a music video" sequence which is easily the best single video game setpiece of the year (BG3 actually has its own banging musical number during the battle in Avernus, but it's not quite as impressive).

Phantom Liberty was also both excellent in its own right and completed Cyberpunk 2077's redemption arc in full. Getting Sad Keanu on the train (and being able to use trains!) was the icing on the cake.

Starfield was okay...ish, but easily Bethesda's weakest game since Daggerfall. Some interesting stuff in there but also some genuinely baffling design decisions.

[Themetricsystem]

Against the Storm was absolutely ROBBED in the Strategy Game category, there is nothing wrong with Pikmin at all but it does not deserve the crown, what a shame.

[Charlie Brooks]

Baldur's Gate 3 is my current obsession. I haven't played another game that gives me an opportunity to do all the idiot things my players enjoy doing at the tabletop.