2023 was an amazing year for games.... or so i'm told, i didn't actually play a whole lot of new games this year and many of the ones that i was curious about sometimes came out very late with limited releases, were imports i have to wait on or in the case of BG3 aren't shipping until mid next year (or alan wake 2 just not getting one) so i actually, can't give out many real awards this year because i barely did much, i mostly played otome games and old stuff! but i'll give out awards for the best of what i did play this year regardless of when it came out, as long as i beat it for the first time this year it qualifies.

GOTY: death end re;quest 2: DERQ2 was by far my biggest surprise of the year because i went into it with very low expectations at first as i just wanted a cute lil rpg to play midway into the year but i found myself in love with it from the first few hours and its easy to tell why as it was written by a few writers who have made some of the best otome games of all time. i always love when a new game enters my top list but outside of otome games its very rare that something can resonate with me enough that it manages to break not just into the top list but actually in the top 5 alongside the likes of amnesia: memories and 428: shibuya scramble, it had my favourite story of the year, some of the best characters (my username on many platforms is taken from a member of the cast), writing, one of my favourite settings in a game and an all time great soundtrack, add to that a unique battle system and fun minigames and you got the best game of the year

runner up GOTY: needy streamer overload. a game i haven't covered on here yet but it was a damn close candidate for the best game of the year, a shockingly real representation of the kinds of misogyny women face online and the consequences of having to deal with it, this along with its depiction of mental illnesses that i also have made this game hit harder for me than anything else this year, it's also got a great aesthetic, some fantastic spritework and a great ost, well worth it if you can handle it's extreme themes

best game you can't play anymore: babylons fall. babylons fall was my big game at the start of the year and still one of my favourites, in many spaces me being this games #1 fan is just my thing now and i'm okay with that because it's probably true, i played it for almost a hundred hours and was likely one of the very few people to both platnum the game and beat all of the postgame dlc chapters, i saw everything this game had to offer and was there to watch its servers die, i still have the game installed on my ps4 because i'm not really ready to see it go. it had some of the most fun combat of the year and remains one of my favourite platnum games, it had a lot of real heart to it with a cool world, fun characters and a really cool art style and its a shame to see it die, relegated to meme fodder for the most boring youtube channels imaginable, but i won't treat it that way, rest easy, babylons fall.

best game towns: persona 5 strikers. some of the best vibes of the year, arguably the best OST and a game that managed to possibly be my new favourite musou outside of the sengoku basara games, turning a musou into an action rpg flawlessly and having a fantastic translation of persona mechanics in a new genre, heck i even like it and its cast more than i did the original persona 5 which is very impressive, it's the best road trip in a game and the vibes of chilling in new towns with the cast is unmatched, a top tier RPG

best combat of the year: uppers (tied with persona 5 strikers). having the best combat in its genre and a fun cast of characters was enough to land this on the list, it's a fun ride with tons of fun interactable environments and varied characters, one of the best games on vita and a top tier import for the system.

best 3D platformer: ape escape. some of the most fun controls on the ps1 and one of the cutest mascots ever, it's innovative and charming and a perfect example of what we lost when japan studio died, one of the best 3D platformers ever made and a killer OST that i still listen to weekly got this in the top 10 no problem.

best shooter: gungrave. one of the best looking games i played all year, a fun shooter thats very accessable, has a cool graphical style with a great OST and a good length, one of my favourite shooters of all time.



best otome games of the year: #1: error salvation: would have been in my top 3 overall this year and i havent even finished it, some of the best writing in any otome i've played and some top tier routes, the dark, but not edgy themes resonate super well for me and the more androgynous designs all work so well, in my top 5 for the genre.

#2: radiant tale: a fluffy cute circus otome with a more chilled out vibe compared to many of this years releases, suitable for basically anyone and one of the cutest games in the genre, a perfect beginners otome.

#3: charademaniacs: a very late localisation but a very welcome one, one of the best told stories in the genre, though i also haven't beat this one yet, but i will and soon because this game is worth every second.

#4: jackjeanne: the first localised rhythm otome on consoles in a long time, with fantastic art by the tokyo ghoul mangaka and possibly the years best writing make this one the one i'd reccomend the most strongly out of any of the otome i've played, though it's not my personal favourite.

#5 hana awase: while i got the pack of all 4 games i've only had the time to play one of them, a super fun hanafuda battle system and more extreme routes than most make this a contender for a top tier series.

#6 winters wish: one i didn't have a ton of time to play, again, but i enjoyed what i did play a lot, some of the years best art for sure but i didn't get far enough to make an overall opinion, hense it being fairly low

#7: norn9 varcommons and last era: while i played norn9 years ago on the vita i figured i would give its switch port a mention, but it's fandisc was localised for the first time this year, a fine fandisc that gives you more norn9, it works great for what it is but it is still just a fandisc, but a worthy one.

#8: my next life as a villainess: all routes lead to doom: pirates of the disturbance: our first major licenced otome and a solid one, but one that is very reliant on knowledge from reading the light novels or watching the anime, it's solid but just not up to the usual otomate standards for me, but worth a play for any fans of the show.



best samurai game: onimusha. a fun resident evil style game with melee combat, beautiful and innovative and with a lot to do with side quests and hidden items, some of the best pre-renders of all time.

best console pack in: astros playroom, somehow still one of the best ps5 exclusives and a really fun 3D platformer with a ton of heart and charm, it's sad that team asobi are all that carries japan studios legacy within sony but if they keep making games like this i don't think its all bad, one of the all timers.

best remake: oneechanbara origin. it's just a different game with the same name, that's what i like in a remake. it has a really cool style and 3 super fun characters and you even get a cool bloody palice mode, one of the best hack and slash games i played this year.

best game actually from this year: resident evil 4 remake. it's not as good as the original so i didn't think it deserved higher but it's still a fantastic resi game and one of the best of the recent crop, the new story is amazing and some of the new segments are a lot of fun, but it's no resi 4, i just wish it was more its own thing.

best DLC: resident evil 4: seperate ways. a dlc better than the main game isn't super common but this year had seperate ways, something much closer to what i wanted with resident evil 4 remake, it's own game, vastly different from the original in fun ways and with genuine improvements to the gameplay, throw in extra mercs content and this is one of the best DLC's ive played, special shoutout also to the back 4 blood DLC which also managed to be better than its basegame, with better levels and more risks taken, a must play if you get b4b

best first person platformer: jumping flash. downright revolutionary and both one of the best first person and best 3D platformers ever made and in my top 5 japan studios titles, killer music, an amazing aesthetic and some of the most fun levels in the genre, a must play, robbit is the best.

best 2D platformer: megaman 8 (super castlevania 4, castlevania and mega man 7&X also worth mentioning). the game that sold me on the megaman series despite my initial dislike of it, seriously fun powers and some of the best sprites on the ps1, worth playing even if you don't like the genre like i don't.

best playlink game: erica. a game i haven't covered on the site but this game is a real masterpiece, the best showcase for playlink and one of the best FMV games ever made, a must play, it's even playable without use of the app!

best shmups: zero wing, raiden 5 and cotton 100%. a three-way tie between these, raiden 5 is a fantastic modern shmup with a fun, deadly premonitiony story mode with a fun cast and fantastic music, that's also not too difficult, zero wing is a classic for a reason, with easily accessible action and some of the best cutscenes of all time, you know the ones and cotton 100% (will cover in the new year) being an adorable and accessible cute-em-up that's also got a killer OST, it's hard to go wrong with any of them, all 3 deserved this award.

biggest surprise: call of duty black ops cold war. a real shock, what i expected to be a propagandistic slog with some fun zombies maps ended up being surprisingly not that bad, a fun campaign with a genuinely good story, choices that mattered and immersive sim segments, it even had a cool multiplayer and a decent zombies mode with some big and fun maps (the berlin wall one i'd love to go back and play again sometime)



best golf game: everybodys golf. the start to one of my favourite golf series, while it can be difficult, it has a cool style and a great soundtrack, was done by a different studio so it makes it unique experiance compared to the rest.

best comic book game: spawn armageddon. a fun DMC clone based around gun combat, it's peak mid 2000s edge and a rly fun time, almost like a proto-dirge of cerberus, too difficult near the end though.

best cinematic games: uncharted 1 and 3. i'll give it to both, while i think 3 is the better game, 1 is such an early ps3 time capsule that it deserves a mention and play as well, high production values and fun set pieces make these games great rollercoaster rides, they won't be for everyone but if you can enjoy some dumb fun they're well worth a try.

best FMV game: bandersnatch. an FMV game playable fully within netflix, due to the nature of netflix delisting things you should probably play this soonish, but it's a great meta-fmv game about choice and narritive that has a really good cast and a well told story about game development in 80's england.

best multiplayer games: rocket arena and my hero ultra rumble. rocket arena will most likely be unplayable by the time many read this but it was a great cross between a hero shooter and smash bros that i had a fantastic time with, sadly burdoned with an always online connection despite having a bot mode. hero aca ultra rumble on the other hand should still be up, a game that sold me on battle royales and a fun licenced anime game that did things a little differently.



best scifi shooter: resistance burning skies. a super fun vita shooter that you can beat in an afternoon, lots of charm and still very impressive.

best licenced kids game: stuart little 2. a surprisingly great 3D platformer with a great sense of scale and some really fun minigames.

best minigame compilation: ape academy. a really fun minigame comp that reuses assets from ape escape 2, short and has some cute reference games.

best zombie game: walking dead survival instinct. a super fun dead-island lite style game that's actually canon to the show.

best shitpost game: catgirl without salad. a half an hour long browser game that got given a physical release by LRG, very charming and a good shmup in its own right, shockingly well made too.

best cat game: stray. it's a game where you get to play as a cat and explore a cyberpunk kowloon city, go play it.

best christmas game: deadrising 4. sure it's the worst in its series but it's still a very fun game with a nice city to explore and an amazing christmas theme to it.



best replays: dead rising is a game i've played dozens of times but this year was the first time i went for the 7 day survivor trophy, i had a blast replaying it and its still one of the best games ever made with fun places to explore, infinitely quotable lines and a fun OST, excited to jump back into it sometime.

resident evil directors cut: a classic that's just as fun now as it was when it came out, time has given it a more of an eerie vibe to it with the uncannyness of the CG's, its got fun dialogue and it plays like a dream, a masterpiece that i replay almost yearly.

resident evil outbreak: one of the best games in its series and a great time even solo, it has some of the best series levels and one of the better OST's, a must play for any resi fan because it's one of the last games with the classic style.

house of the dead 3&4: two of the best rail shooters ever made and possibly at their best with PS move with great music and really fun gameplay, must plays for anyone with the consoles to use them right, ideally on ps3 but the wii versions work too.

dino stalker. a fun hour long gun survivor game, one of the most fun games i've played this year and a real graphical showcase for the ps2, a must play and one of my favourite ps2 games.

best games i covered in 2022: i didn't make a GOTY list for 2022 because i didn't cover that many games last year, but i do want to talk about a few of them below



devils third: a hugely underated action game that combines third person shooting with hack and slash combat, one of the best wiiu games and a really dumb fun adventure.

resident evil dead aim: another game i play almost yearly and probably my favourite resident evil game, the best atmosphere in the series with some of the best sound design, fun characters and amazing gameplay.

resident evil survivor: another one of the most hated resident evil games, but also a favourite, nothing else plays like it and i think its a very special game to me, massive replayability and a great look to it makes it an amazing game to me.

intelligent qube: one of my favourite puzzle games, super fun to play and with one of the best soundtracks on the ps1, a must play.

virtua fighter 2: a super fun fighting game that's held back a little by massive difficulty in some ports, has a fantastic soundtrack though and is one of the best saturn games.

and lastly yakuza 2: one of the best games in one of my favourite series, the best atmosphere in the series combined with some of the best stories and characters, plus some of the best gameplay in the series, one of the best games on the ps2.