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The "Best Games of 2023" Lists Are Spawning


Commissar SFLUFAN

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In one of the best years ever for video games, Alan Wake 2 manages to stand…

 

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When we first began reviewing Alan Wake, we were told that there was a chapter in the middle of the game that we had to swear to secrecy not to speak about. This is fairly standard in video game review embargoes and usually amounts to the developer not wanting you to tell fans that X dies during chapter Y, which is fair enough.

 

This chapter was We Sing.

 

Remedy’s love of music and penchant for including gameplay sequences set to music is well established. Alan Wake had a battle set to The Old Gods Of Asgard rocking out on stage. Control featured the Ashtray Maze, a highlight that’s almost invariably the first thing someone brings up when they mention the game, but nothing prepared us for We Sing.

 

We Sing is the kind of sequence in a video game that will be referenced for decades. A level so confident, so precisely executed, and so liable to ruin the game if it was done poorly, that nothing but a developer at the peak of its powers could pull it off.

 

If you’re going to do something like this in a game, you have to take it incredibly seriously, or it will fall flat. We Sing is about as serious as it gets. Not only is the song fantastic, but having the player traverse a TV studio with floor-to-ceiling screens displaying live-action footage of the game’s cast performing the song is a stroke of genius.

 

In a lot of ways, We Sing is the perfect encapsulation of how far Remedy has come. The studio that had to apologize to fans for not being in the position to give them the game they desperately wanted, is now a decade later producing a 10-minute musical paying homage to the decade it took them to get there, a singing and dancing Sam Lake in tow.

 

 

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More from The Gamer's staff:

 

James Kennedy, Specialist Writer

WWW.THEGAMER.COM

How do you write a GOTY list when even your honorable mentions make a strong argument for deserving the crown? 2023 is messed up... But in a good way!

 

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10. Final Fantasy XVI
09. Alan Wake II
08. Baldur's Gate III
07. Lunacid
06. Hi-Fi Rush

05. Cocoon
04. Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line
03. Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries Of Honjo - Complete Walkthrough
02. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
01. GOTY Editor's Pick: Street Fighter 6

 

 

James Troughton, Cross-Department Editor

WWW.THEGAMER.COM

In a year as stacked as 2023, James tries and mostly succeeds at picking ten of the best games.

 

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10. Night Loops

09. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

08. Super Mario Bros. Wonder

07. Street Fighter 6

06. Master Detectives Archive: Rain Code

05. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

04. Alan Wake II

03. Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries Of Honjo

02. The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

01. GOTY Editor's Pick: Baldur's Gate III

 

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 Mohamed El Ouardighi, Specialist Writer

WWW.THEGAMER.COM

Another soulslike? Thank you. Another soulslike? Thank you. Another soulslike? Thank you!

 

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10. Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora

09. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

08. Immortals Of Aveum

07. The Last Faith

06. Blasphemous II

05. Final Fantasy XVI

04. Resident Evil 4 Remake

03. Lords of the Fallen

02. Remnant II

01. GOTY Editor's Pick: Lies of P @Bacon

 

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2 minutes ago, stepee said:

Yeah I don’t care what people like or dislike cuz opinions and all, but you asked!

 

I actually just bought it for ps5 because the VR mode is out and I’m excited to try that.

 

Man, VR on PS5 must be so fuckin cool. Especially the way you described GT7. Is at the point its passed being a showcase and more of actual solid gameplay in the VR modes?

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1 minute ago, Bacon said:

I think the RE4 remake is fantastic. Wouldn't put it on a GOTY list as it's a remake and I think the first RE4 is actually better.

 

Yea. I have amazing memories of RE4 on my GameCube. The remake is really fuckin polished but boring to me. Da well. 

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It’s hit and miss. The big stuff plays great. I think Synapse feels phenomenal to play, really underrated. GT7 is insane. RE Village and from what I hear RE4R plat really well, it’s actual VR shooting now, not with a gamepad like on psvr1. You get the actual experience in VR in general now on psvr2 whereas you did not get that on psv1. You can move around, duck, aim, etc. 

 

But Sony’s overall support is questionable and  a lot of the other games are more novelty arcade type stuff. I like some of that stuff but you likely wouldn’t. VR being split between platforms is hurting it imo because there just aren’t enough quality games being made frequently yet. If you could get one unit and play Asgards Wrath, Assassins Creed Nexus, GT7, RE4R, Half Life Alyx, etc that would be an easier sell.

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1 hour ago, best3444 said:

 

With me I'm usually pretty negative on games. Give me an example where I hyped something up that didn't deserve it?

June 24th - Final Fantasy 16

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This game is so fuckin good. It's exactly my type of game where things aren't overly difficult or complicated... just awesome. The combat has gotten even better for me with the upgrades in the eikon abilities. I put in 4 hours today and I want to jump back in. I love the realistic vibe they went for here. 

August 24th - Final Fantasy 16

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Just my opinion. I know you enjoyed it more than I did. Jumping from this to Uncharted Lost Legacy was such a breath of fresh air. I really dislike FF16 a lot. 

 

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1 hour ago, stepee said:

Brian is just big mad that Yakuza never gets nominated 

True. I saw Yakuza on one list. That’s fucking insane. 
 

1 hour ago, stepee said:

Im the guy who told yall about pizza tower so Id consider checking before running a risk of wrecking 

Broken clock right twice a day yadda yadda

 

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I will say in a year that had a ridiculous amount of the best games I’ve ever played (Spiderman 2, Alan Wake 2, Mario Wonder, Pizza Tower), RE4R stands right next to those. I don’t have the nostalgia of the original to be able to appreciate that the same way but I can tell from the Remake it was obviously a phenomenally designed game.

 

But, I do agree that it’s so good because it’s essentially a current gen update to a game already herald as one of the all time greats, so shouldn’t be winning awards beyond best remake.

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16 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:
WWW.VG247.COM

The 2023 video game awards that really matter. Forget The Game Awards and check these out instead.

 

The “I think you’ll find I was right, actually” Award

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Best-Worst Business Strategy

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Best big budget AAA release

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Dave the Diver

 

Best Stomach-Testing Rollercoaster Ride

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Best Sponsorship

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The Tom Orry Award for Most Boring News Story That Dragged On Forever

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The Jim Trinca award for turning up finally, just very late

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Kendall Roy Award for Gaming's Unlikeliest Babygirl

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Best Game that we only like for its technology

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Most annoying fans

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Worst Fans

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Most pious fans

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Fans we couldn't be bothered to write about (or make an image for)

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These awards aren't sponsored, but if they were we'd have had a section like this: @Shoes

 

 

best big budget AAA

The Grinch Smiling GIF by The Good Films

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