Save The Game Media: Kevin Ainsworth's Top 10 Games of 2023
Kevin is the Founder of Save The Game Media – a group of content creators sharing their love of video games, film, anime and more with YOU – our amazing audience. Kevin is the host of Project XTalk: An Xbox Podcast discussing the latest Xbox games and news each week alongside JamPackSam.
2023 is a year that I will never forget; there were a lot of highs and lows for me on a personal front. I’ve moved, struggled with injuries and had to make difficult career decisions. On the same note – I’ve gained a new co-host in JamPackSam, Save the Game Media and Project XTalk continue to grow and we raised over $1,000 for Extra Life this year – all of which I’m proud of. However – no matter where I was at personally, gaming was always there. In what might be the greatest year in video games ever – I found myself playing less games compared to 2022 (having finished 62 games in 2023 at the time of writing) but spending more time and falling more in love with the games I did play. So many surprises, hidden gems and standouts that its hard to pick my favorites but let’s give it a go! Here are my Top 10 Games of 2023.
Honorable Mentions
Ravenlok
Ravenlok was the latest game from indie developer Cococucumber that wears its Alice in Wonderland inspirations on its sleeve. An incredibly charming, cute and visually appealing game with its voxel art style – it instantly won me over. Simple and easy combat, plus a run time of only a few hours hold this game back from being TRULY great.
Diablo IV
If you had asked me when this game came out, it was for sure going to make my GOTY list but I feel the shine fell off of Diablo 4 faster than any other major release this year. Now don’t get me wrong – Diablo 4 is amazing. From a gameplay perspective this is a fantastic ARPG. Add on a great story, gorgeous cinematics and you have something great. But – the first few patches and awful end game content saw me drop this game super fast and I haven’t gone back in months. I hear its better but I will have to find out for myself.
Final Fantasy XVI
A good game that could have been a great game. There is a lot to like about Final Fantasy 16; stunning visuals, amazing voice acting, one of the best soundtracks of the year and a pretty good story. But repetitive, simple combat, a complete lack of RPG elements and some of the worst pacing I’ve seen in a video game make really drag this game down.
Atlas Fallen
I’m a big fan of Focus Entertainment published games and Atlas Fallen is no different. Coming from Deck13, this game is the definition of a “7/10” but in the best way. A cheesy, forgettable B tier sci-fi story, mixed with fun aerial combat and a great co-op experience which lets you explore the world freely made this game an absolute blast. This game might have the most diverse builds in an RPG this year as well but some technical issues were there at launch but don’t sleep on this game!
10. Clive 'N' Wrench
Bet you didn’t see this coming? Maybe you’ve never even heard of this game but stay with me. I LOVE 3D Platforming collectathons, I LOVE a duo mascot so I LOVE Clive N Wrench. Yes – the name is clearly derivative of another duo but I loved everything about this game. It’s an homage to platformers of old but feels modern. The collectables aren’t overwhelming or annoying to collect, the level design is top notch and the story is silly. Reviews did not treat this game favorable but its one of the only games I loved enough this year to get the Platinum trophy.
9. One Piece Odyssey
One Piece is basically the only anime I keep up with these days so when they said they were making a traditional JRPG with the IP – I said sign me up. The game is a love letter to fans of both – with a good One Piece story that lets you relive great moments from the anime combined with the best combat system I’ve seen in a JRPG in years! The zone system still stands out in my mind and while traversal can be slow and the game is easy, its still one of my favorite games this year.
8. Hi-Fi Rush
The game that took everyone by surprise and deserves all the praise it received. When it was shadow dropped back in January, I instantly fell in love. The wonderful story that gave me Scott Pilgrim vibes combined with fantastic action gameplay and a stunning soundtrack – I was hooked. It is a rhythm game but unlike others – it doesn’t punish you for missing the beat, making the game much more accessible and much more enjoyable.
7. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie
When I started my Trails journey in 2022 with Zero, I had no idea I was about to fall in love with the series. Here I am, at the end of 2023 and in these two years I’ve played all 10 localized Trails games. Trails into Reverie is the latest release and is essentially the EndGame of the trails saga. Converging three story arcs into one game was always going to be challenging but they pulled it off. Its not perfect, but damn – is it an amazing journey. The classic Trails turn based combat and Quarts System return, but it doesn’t rank higher as I found the Reverie corridor to be lackluster despite a good true ending being tied to its completion.
6. Crash Team Rumble
Was a multiplayer only Crash Bandicoot game what I wanted? No. My love for this game surprised even myself – the biggest of Crash fans. From the minute I played the Closed Beta, I was hooked. I’m not huge into multiplayer games these days but the gameplay in Crash Team Rumble was so addicting. Quick, fast and fun matches where you compete to collect Wumpa Fruit while battling it out with your favorite character. Each character having their own role is very MOBA-esque and team balance is so important, and I love when games make strategy the key to success. Toys for Bob have supported the game with new modes, characters, events and more that have kept the game going but unfortunately, I don’t think its long for this world, as is the case with most multiplayer games I fall for. My Dingodile will forever be… nasty.
5. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
I’m going to say it right now, this is THE BEST Platform Fighter outside of Smash Bros. The sequel to the much maligned Nick All Star Brawl, the sequel takes everything and improves it. Higher budget leads to better visuals, animations, gameplay, modes, voice acting and crossplay. A great roguelike story mode makes this game worth it for the single player component alone. Don’t let the first game put you off the best platform fighter in years.
4. Sea of Stars
Sabotage Studios really created something special with Sea of Stars. Its hard to know where to start. The Japanese inspired RPG is visually stunning, the colors are bright and vibrant it’s a feast for the eyes. It’s a homage to JRPGs of old inspired by games like Chrono Trigger and it knocks it out of the park. An interesting, emotional story and fantastic turn based combat make this game an absolute joy to play for its 20+ hour run time.
3. Starfield
I get it, Starfield isn’t for everyone and its far from perfect, but I LOVED my 40 hours with Bethesda’s latest RPG. While I didn’t care for the outpost building aspect or exploring random planets, at its core, Starfield is an RPG and no other game I played this year allowed me to role play more. My character was a space cop through and through and I made the decisions MY character would’ve made throughout the story and all of the main faction quests. Not only is the choice and consequence great but it allowed you to play how you want – I didn’t use guns, I was a sword fighter through and through. This game captured me like few others and its one of the best this year.
2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure
The second Trails game to make my Top 10 list and my favorite Trails game and its simply because the story is 2nd to none. The sequel to Trails from Zero, a game I rank at the bottom of my trails list, absolutely blew me away. Returning to Crossbell and the SSS – the plot twists, character moments and pacing of this game made it absolutely impossible to put down until the credits rolled. A masterpiece of a JRPG.
1. Alan Wake II
My undisputed Game of the Year. I rolled credits on this game at the start of November and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. While I don’t think the gunplay is anything special, the performances, visuals, acting and absolutely stellar narrative make this easily the best game I’ve played this year and one of my favorite games of all time. I liked Alan Wake – I LOVE Alan Wake 2. This is peak story telling in video games and everything I love about this entertainment medium. I can’t wait for the DLC and NG+ or to see where Remedy goes next with the connected universe they’re building. If you haven’t experienced Alan Wake 2 yet – I implore you to change that.