2023's Most Anticipated Games - Stephen's Picks
2023 is shaping up to be one of the biggest years in video games of all time. No matter whether you play on PC, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X|S, or the Nintendo Switch, you’re going to have a lot to play in 2023. Given that, we couldn’t simply pool the team’s thoughts into one top 10 countdown of the most anticipated games, so we solicited 10 from each person to discuss. Today, hear what Stephen has to say about his 10 most anticipated games of 2023.
10. Starfield
I don’t really trust Bethesda as far as I can throw them to deliver a game that isn’t a) buggier than an entomology collection, b) doesn’t look like something from two generations ago and c) has any level of compelling side content. It’s been a long time since they wowed me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in seeing whether Starfield can prove Bethesda can still hang with the best of them when it comes to compelling Western RPGs. This is one case where I’m very happy to be proven wrong, so Starfield is one I’ll be digging into on release.
9. S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl
I’m a bit shaky on this one, but both S.T.A.L.K.E.R and Call of Pripyat remain two of my favourite PC FPS of all time. While the Metro series captured some of what made S.T.A.L.K.E.R so enjoyable, I’m really hoping this sequel can truly take me back to those hours I spent exploring every nook and cranny of The Zone. Слава Україні!
8. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Despite a few blemishes, Jedi: Fallen Order was an enjoyable action/adventure romp and one of the best single player Star Wars games since Republic Commando. A great ‘popcorn’ experience, I’m excited to spend a few days or weeks immersing myself into the Star Wars universe with some souls-lite combat.
7. Alan Wake 2
Were it not for Control and it’s DLC, this might not appear on my list at all. But as my favourite game of 2019, I’ve been eagerly anticipating any sort of follow-up from Remedy. Control 2 isn’t yet on the horizon, but I have a copy of Alan Wake Remastered waiting on my shelf and Alan Wake 2 on top of that should tide me over.
6. Trails to Azure
Have I finished Trails to Zero? No. Do I already have my pre-order of this locked and loaded? Absolutely. Yet another piece in the grand puzzle that is the Legend of Heroes series, Trails to Azure sits so highly on my list of anticipated titles purely because it’s a game that myself and many fans had presumed we were not getting in any official capacity for over a decade now due to ageing hardware, licensing & localisation issues and the awkward place that Zero/Azure inhabit in the overall series for newcomers.
5. System Shock
I chose to end the demo of this at PAXAUS 2022 early, because I didn’t want to spoil too much of the final release. As a lover of immersive sims, I’ve been looking forward seeing this remake of one of the originators of the genre which influenced so much of what came after it. A creepy sci-fi setting and murderous AI? Sign me the heck up.
4. Like A Dragon: Ishin!
This Late Edo Period-set Yakuza title finally makes it to the West – a joyous occasion indeed. It’s been wonderful to see the continued success of the Yakuza franchise and it’s spin-offs like Judgment, but also worrying considering there are so few left for Sega to localise we may have to begin waiting for years at a stretch to receive any more.
3. Trails into Reverie
I don’t think there’s a single JRPG series these days that excites me as much as Falcom’s Trails saga. The culmination of six prior games, Trails into Reverie will close one chapter of this sweeping epic before building up to the next. While not the most technically impressive games, there is a heart to the Trails series that I find utterly arresting, alongside in-depth world and character building that is almost best-in-class. It will be a tough decision if I continue on the Switch or make the jump to PS5 for this entry, but either way I’ll have my pre-order money down the minute it’s available.
2. Hollow Knight: Silksong
A brief taste at a pre-Pandemic PAXAUS was not enough to satiate me for the release of Silksong, a game that was ‘almost done’ three years ago. I suspect the tale grew in the telling, and Silksong will now match, if not exceed, the amount of content Hollow Knight offered. Fingers crossed the performance on the Switch remains smooth as it’s definitely my platform of choice when this launches.
1. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
As a Zelda devotee, this should come as no surprise, but it does have a few caveats. While predecessor Breath of the Wild did have some ‘high highs’, I also found it one of the weaker Zelda games when it comes to puzzle and dungeon design. I’m hoping that certain subsystems are scrapped or at least overhauled alongside a much-improved set of dungeons. Ideally, having been designed from the ground up for the Switch instead of the classic Nintendo last minute platform bump (which necessitated hamstringing features out of the original target platform version) means Tears of the Kingdom can combine the freeform exploration of BotW with the classic Zelda formula I longed for when playing it.
So that concludes Stephen’s list of his most anticipated games of 2023. What are some of yours? Hit us up via social media to let us know what games you are keen on in 2023!
