Xbox Tavern’s Games of the Year 2023

The weekly podcast crew deliver their top picks of the year in full here, or you can read on below for their thoughts as well as some of the Tavern crew at large!

Jamie – EIC

Before we get into the Game of the Year proper for myself this year, I have to acknowledge that (crappy industry stuff aside; check out the wonderful AJ’s Top 10 for more on that) the quality of games released has been utterly incredible. Prior years have been fairly simple to narrow down a game or two for the top spot, but looking at my list for 2023 and I’ve struggled to narrow down a top 10, let alone pick my favourite.

For me, the year kicked off with Tails: The Backbone Preludes, an awesome prequel to one of my GOTY contenders for 2021 in Backbone, swiftly followed up by remakes of both Dead Space and Resident Evil 4, with the latter only just missing out on a top spot.

Indie titles reigned supreme too, with the excellent Nuclear Blaze, The Tarturus Key, Homebody, Jusant, The Talos Principle II and Amnesia: The Bunker all providing some of the most memorable gaming for me this year. And while not indie considering it had EA backing it, Immortals of Aveum surprised me with just how much fun I had in the magic shooters world. Of course, I can’t get too far ahead of myself without shouting out the DLC for my 2021 GOTY Lake; Season’s Greetings too. It was awesome to be back in P.O, and while it didn’t quite leave the mark on me the original game did, that’s more to do with how stellar everything else has been this year than any lack of quality there. Looking back through my reviews for the year, there are a handful more I could have included here too, but this is going on long enough already…

My highest scored game that I covered for the Tavern was Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy, a wonderful new entry in a series I adore. It took everything learnt in the prior four games and moulded it into a sublime puzzle platformer that is gorgeous, inventive, great fun, and just a joy to behold all round.

However, the was one game this year that won me over from second one through to hour 40 and more, and I still get pangs of desire to play it despite the fact I 100% completed it at release – Pikmin 4. Like Trine 5, Pikmin 4 takes lessons from the prior three entries and crafts what can only be described as the easiest going entry yet. The controls and characters work with you this time (playing the recent Pikmin 1&2 release only magnifies how much smoother control in Pikmin 4 is), the puzzle areas are smartly laid out and constantly encourage us to ‘just see what’s over there’, and that classic Nintendo drip feed of “here’s one more thing for you to play with” is prevalent throughout.

The sense of discovery and wonder never got old, and even the ideas I wasn’t sold on pre-launch (upgrades, Pikmin limits, Dandori battles) ended up feeling perfectly suited to the game Nintendo wanted to put out. If there’s one nitpick I’d have it’s that it took a bit too long to let us have a full 100 Pikmin out in the field, but again, the game was pitched perfectly to account for this, gradually letting our army get more powerful without being able to swarm everything from the off.

Night battles we a nice change of pace, although were my least favourite part of the game purely because I just wanted to get back to the collecting and exploration. The Glow Pikmin we gain though came in handy in caves and for the final boss fight, and were a neat addition overall.

If you’d have asked me in January 2023 whether there could be any game other than Tears of the Kingdom that would be in the running for my top spot I’d have thought it very unlikely, but here we are and this is the first mention of Zelda. TotK is an incredible game, and in all likelihood will end up being one of my favourites of all time, but sadly I’ve just not had the time to properly play it before now. I’m hoping the holiday break will afford me more time to get through it, but as it stands, Pikmin 4 is a more than worthy title to pop in the top spot for my personal Game of the Year 2023.

Graham – Contributor

Our GOTY Show discussion, time stamped for Graham’s (no so surprising) pick

Corey – Contributor

Of the 60 plus games that were released this year that I’ve got around to in some capacity, these are my top 3 games of the year 2023. 

Lil Gator Game – Over the past couple of years these “cozy” games are starting to come around more often and there are some sleeper hits amongst them. Lil Gator Game was the one for me in 2023. If you are looking for a super chill game where you just explore, talk to people, and help them out in a non-stressed environment, do not skip out on Lil Gator Game. Charming in almost every aspect.

Hogwart’s Legacy – 2023 was definitely the year of the AAA battle with banger after banger releasing. From the ones I’ve played, Hogwart’s Legacy is the one that kept me enthralled throughout. Just being in that world was enough to entice me but actually playing the game proved that it was a contender for some of the most fun combat an open world game has seen. Magic based combat has been done time and time again and this is likely the best version of it. 

SteamWorld Build SteamWorld Build, while a late contender this year having just released in December, kept me thoroughly engaged from start to finish. It perfectly took a genre that I’ve always wanted to like but can never stick around long enough to master it and made it hard to put down. This was different in the way it introduced the “next thing” to work towards and it had a definitive ending. I hardly have any negatives about it. 

Ross – Contributor

Our GOTY Show discussion, time stamped for Ross’ (even less surprising) pick

AJ Small – Contributor
(You can read AJ’s full Top 10 here)

I’ve been rock climbing for over ten years and most games that include it don’t understand the sport. Part puzzle game, part meditative conversation with your own body’s limits – climbing is tough but invigorating. Games tend to understand the puzzle element of climbing, but games like Assassin’s Creed only see it as a power fantasy, rather conveying that ‘when you do the cool move, there is a good chance you are not going to be able to do that again’.

Before Jusant only I am Alive hit the idea of stamina impacting a player’s ability to do daring moves. I think both games do it well but where Jusant shines is the subtle nods to climbing’s history and process.

The mechanics are sublime, the freeform nature of using the triggers to control the grip of each hand gives the feeling of having to choose your moves carefully but also of quick improvisation. The way that moving, jumping, and even resting causes a degradation of stamina translates the stress of climbing perfectly. The tension of trying to push further up a cliff, with a hint of controlled panic, knowing that there might not be enough juice left in the tank is what climbing often feels like. But there is more.

There are a good number of historical documentaries around the climbing pioneers. One that impacted me the most was around the freewheeling hippy types in Yosemite. Despite their obvious talents – it is clear that the way these climbers ascended the dangerous peaks in Yosemite was by sloppy means. They would jam metal spikes into the rock at a rate of every 5 feet. These rusted bolts remain in the cliff-face to this day as a reminder to the newer climbers of how far they have improved. Technology and technique mean that people climb the same routes with no support.

Throughout Jusant the player sees the remnants of previous climbs. Decaying struts and dilapidated rungs litter the paths. In between each ascent, there are records of others that have gone the same way. It suggests a communal nature to the climbing in the world. A world where the protagonist is able to use far more effective methods of traversal.

As a game, Jusant is a solid, well thought out experience. As a re-enactment of climbing, it is the gold standard.

Pete – Contributor

Our GOTY Show discussion, time stamped for Pete’s (controversial) pick

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Written by
I've been gaming since Spy vs Spy on the Master System, growing up as a Sega kid before realising the joy of multi-platform gaming. These days I can mostly be found on smaller indie titles, the occasional big RPG and doing poorly at Rainbow Six: Siege. Gamertag: Enaksan

2 Comments

  1. Great list, and not just because I am featured on there – going to have to listen to the full podcast now!

    Liked that you picked a Nintendo game, on a Microsoft website too!

    Reply
    • You’re damn right I did! I’m happy to share the love across all platforms, and as much as I enjoyed 99% of my gaming on Xbox this year, Pikmin is near and dear to me and I couldn’t not shout it out.

      Reply

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