Best Games You Proably Haven’t Played In 2023
04.01.2024 - 14:32
/ gameranx.com
/ Alan Wake
/ Best
Well, it’s finally over. The year of our lord, 2023, has been, gone, and will never return. We now stare down the barrel of 2024, and honestly, it’s looking pretty swanky in the gaming space. Grim everywhere else, granted, but the games look cool. Before we say goodbye once and for all, I thought it would be swell if I had a glance at some games that didn’t get much attention in 2023 and give them their time in the sun.
The headline implies that these are the ‘best’ games, but what does ‘best’ even mean? It’s all subjective guff and in reality, these are just 10 games I thought were kinda rad and I wanted to ramble about them. That’s it – that’s my criteria for ‘best’. I like them and maybe you will too. Let’s have a gander and find out.
HROT is part of the boom-shoot revival initiative that has taken Steam by storm these last few years. It is a love letter to classic FPS like Quake. Despite its roots being cemented, what HROT brings to the table is entirely unique – soul-crushing depression brought on by the onset of infinite brown voids, nuclear radiation, and communism.
HROT is as ‘Slav’ as you can get, and that vibe is a huge part of the appeal. Sure, the core mechanics and gameplay are very solid. But HROT thrives off its oppressive atmosphere that drowns you in a sea of thick, palpable tension. Everything is understated in a way that fuels a feeling of isolation and vulnerability. Then, out of nowhere, a sentient pommel horse caves your skull in. It’s great.
When I was a kid, I loved Jet Set Radio. Skating around in a yellow t-shirt, spraying stuff, avoiding the fuzz, and listening to some knee-slapping beats had me entertained for hours. The sequel is even more so. It’s a shame that the series died a death after that, and nothing has scratched that itch since.
Until now, of course. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is a love letter to Jet Set Radio, and even manages to improve on just about everything that series did. I spent hours just grinding rails and getting wild combos – so much so that I forgot the game had a story multiple times. It immediately became my go-to comfort game and I can’t recommend it enough.
It just turns out Sega also announced a new Jet Set Radio in 2023 as well, so the genre is back, and I couldn’t be happier.
Max Payne was awesome. I played it way too young and it has stuck with me to this day. Awesome gunplay, slo-mo action, and a gripping crime noir story by the wonderful people at Remedy made for a good time. El Passo, Everywhere is a lot like Max Payne, and there aren’t many games that try to drink from that grail.
Heck, the game is a giant love letter to Remedy as a whole with splashes of Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control all thrown in for good measure. It’s a wild