I will freely admit that 2023 has felt like a bit of a blur. My best of 2022 list still feels fairly recent, and some of those games continued to entertain me into the new year. There are even a few games I finished after the list was published that I wish I could have played earlier since they would have been prime picks.
Three days into the new year, I finished Sonic Frontiers, and to be frank, it would have kicked Pokémon Scarlet off the number five spot for sure.
But that’s enough about my regrets, you didn’t come here for that. Once again, a lot of my playtime this year has been spent on various retro and indie titles from my insurmountable backlog. But I’ve played several fantastic titles from this year’s bumper crop of games, some of which I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing for Noisy Pixel.
Some were easy locks for my Top 5 Games of the year; I had to muse on a little further for others. But now, I’m ready to share my ranking with you, so this is my Top 5 Games of 2023!
5. Coffee Talk: Episode 2 – Hibiscus & Butterfly
One of the highest praises I can sing for Coffee Talk: Episode 2 is that it is almost immediately welcoming and absorbing. From the moment you begin, it truly feels like you’ve been drawn into the game’s cafe setting, and it is so easy to fall in love with it all. From its grounded characters and charming pixel art style to its lo-fi soundtrack, the start of each new play session was something I looked forward to each time I had a spare moment to play.
I remember liking the original Coffee Talk, but Episode 2 really captured my heart. I felt like its simplistic but soothing gameplay loop was just what I needed, much like one of the warming brews featured in the game. It made me want to revisit the original game, too, just to spend more time with its lovable cast of demi-humans. Of course, if you’ve yet to play the original Coffee Talk, I’d highly recommend you check that out before giving this more recent entry a try. I just know that after finishing one, you’ll swiftly want another.
4. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
From one comfortable game to another, for me, at least, Theatrhythm presents a different kind of comfort. As a big fan of Theatrhythm Curtain Call for the Nintendo 3DS, I was immediately excited when Square Enix announced this new entry to their rhythm series. Once it came out, it became very hard to tear me away from it. Honestly, Theatrhythm has some of the best value for money this year. With its immense base song count and extensive Series Quest mode, I’ve likely put more hours into this game than any other, and it’s not even a close competition.
The rhythm gameplay is simple to learn but incredibly addictive when you try to master it, and the range of options for tackling the game’s many quest objectives is bountiful. And that’s before you even talk about the quality of the music itself; Final Fantasy music is simply amazing, and there’s truly something here for casual and hardcore fans of the series. With it still receiving new content even now, this is honestly an incredible love letter to Final Fantasy’s musical legacy.
3. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code
As a long-time Danganronpa fan, I was always going to be excited for this game’s release. The darkly humorous worlds this team creates are always entertaining to me, so I was glad that Rain Code delivered on just about all accounts and in a way that felt unique to itself and its own identity. In a game where the focus is much more on the setting and worldbuilding, each case continues to build upon this idea until it reaches its exciting and absolutely bombastic finale.
The game also oozes style with its art direction, environments, and brilliant soundtrack from composer Masafumi Takada. While the cast here is a lot smaller, there are a number of fantastic characters who all manage to get their moment in the spotlight. The new gameplay felt very fresh, too, a proper evolutionary step for the sort of concepts seen in Danganronpa without having to be bound to the expected conventions of that franchise. All of this made Rain Code a unique delight you must try if you’re a fan of oddball detective thrillers.
2/1. Slay the Princess & In Stars and Time
After playing Rain Code, I fully expected it to be my Game of the Year. I had no idea what could possibly top it. I didn’t think any other game could come as close to that, let alone exceed it. But two games caught me entirely by surprise, and I honestly couldn’t be happier that they did. I tried really hard to decide which of these two was better, but to me, they’re equally deserving of the number one spot on my list.
In some ways, they’re very similar; both focus on time loop scenarios and use a monochromatic visual style. But they otherwise impressed me in unique ways.
Slay the Princess’ biggest success is in just how surprising it is and how big of a difference a player’s choices make on the narrative. A single playthrough only reveals so much of the bigger picture, and until you see everything the game has to offer, you keep wanting to go back for more and more. Each new possibility brings new surprises as well as fresh, emotional highs and lows. Not to mention, the visuals themselves are so lovingly crafted, and the voice work is so astoundingly performed. For fans of visual novels and even those new to the genre, Slay the Princess is definitely worth the investment.
On the other hand, Stars and Time similarly brought me through several emotional highs and lows. Perhaps one of its biggest triumphs is its character writing, as the cast has stuck with me ever since my playthrough. And while Slay the Princess uses its time loop to tell several unique and engaging tales, In Stars and Time has it right at the core of everything as a mechanic, a plot device, and a source of anguish for its protagonist Siffrin (who is my protagonist of the year, without a doubt). It masterfully uses time loops to tell a meaningful and profound story of friendship, found family, our sense of self, and even mental health.
Both In Stars and Time and Slay the Princess left me feeling changed; they gave me a new perspective on games and life as a whole. Rather than choose between the two, I’m more than happy to crown them both as my number one games of the year.
