2023 has been a busy year for gaming, with great titles released throughout most of the twelve months, five of which have left an impact on me this year that I just have to start gushing about.
5. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Starting with some family fun, Mario Wonder sees Mario and friends in the Flower Kingdom in what might be their weirdest adventure yet as they seek to reclaim all of the Wonder Seeds from Bowser’s clutches.
Once again, this is a fun Mario title that’s best played with friends. Each level was fun, but what made this more enjoyable was the addition of the Wonder Seeds and their effects. I like the direction that Nintendo has gone this time with 2D Mario; instead of being a Super Mario Brothers rehash, Wonder gives a unique spin to 2D Mario with tons of characters to play from in this title. It even includes Daisy for the first time in a mainline title!
4. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
A fun asymmetrical horror title tying into a horror movie franchise, Gun Media has made a substantial leap from Friday the 13th to the Texas Chainsaw series, which sees four players either teaming up or saving themselves from Leatherface’s ravenous family as they seek to escape the map. Simultaneously, the other players, as Leatherface’s family, hunt them down before they have a chance to escape.
It was thrilling playing as a Victim and sneaking around in the hopes that Leatherface’s family wouldn’t find and cut me up. There were a couple of close calls when I almost escaped or did escape; I held my breath a couple of times in excitement. I felt relieved when I saw my character escaping from each map with a sense of triumph that they had lived through a terrifying experience.
3. Baldur’s Gate 3
Probably everyone’s most talked about RPG of the year, Baldur’s Gate 3 has your character and your allies trying to prevent the Mindflayers from taking over the world, all the while doing unique quests on the side and finding various lovers, such as the sexy Astarion and the sexier Gale as well as many other love interests in store for the protagonist.
The customisation of Baldur’s Gate 3 is amazing, as well as its quest and roleplaying aspects, like its previous entries. Baldur’s Gate 3 might be the best one in the franchise yet. For players who can fit past its rather large requirement regarding storage, then this is the most fun in a tabletop-like game this year.
2. World of Horror
This Junji Ito-like adventure game has you playing as one of many characters in order to save not only your small town but the entire world from various cosmic evils. I found each mystery to solve to be terrifying and fun to play through, even if some were hard to complete at times; World of Horror was a unique and fun old-school horror title. Although it had been released in early access, it had been fully released this year on Halloween.
1. Super Mario RPG
Finishing up the list is a great remake from the Super Nintendo, Mario RPG brings Mario, Peach, and Bowser, as well as fan-favorite characters Mallow and Geno, on an adventure to stop the evil lord Smithy from taking over the world, with great graphics, a musical overhaul and new mechanics for new and old players to try out. Plus, there are now triple-based moves and a hefty amount of post-game content to enjoy after completing the main story. Mario RPG made me spend countless hours on my Switch as I set off exploring the world and collecting the seven stars.