GAME OF THE YEAR
Years from now, we’ll look back on 2023 as one of the best years for new games ever. What’s been so interesting to see when talking to our writers and readers is the sheer amount of variety in what everyone wanted to champion. Which means a bigger awards list than ever, and plenty of love to go around. Read on for our bonus awards, the readers’ choices, and then finally the critics’ rundown of the ultimate top ten of 2023. As if we didn’t have big enough backlogs already…
BEST PIRATE GAME THAT ACTUALLY MANAGED TO COME OUT
FORMAT PS5, PS4 / PUB MIMIMI GAMES DEV MIMIMI GAMES
We were starting to think we had more chance of seeing an actual ghost than of seeing Ubisoft’s Skull And Bones on our PS5 (a release date was announced as we worked on this issue). Luckily, this was still an excellent year for videogame piracy, courtesy of this spooky, stealthy treat. Shadow Gambit takes everything that was marvellous about Desperados 3 and makes it even better, thanks to a cast of delightful spirits with some of the best powers we got to play with in 2023. Why settle for a cannon on a ship when one of your crew carries a cannon on their back? And why settle for a regular ship when you can have the Red Marley, with its own soul? This stealth game throws an overwhelming number of guards at you then lets you pick them off with your increasingly OP pirates one by one. Arrrsome.
SLICKEST ACTION
FORMAT PS5, PS4 / PUB ANNAPURNA INTERACTIVE / DEV ANGEL MATRIX
Blending genres as it does, Neon White can sound complicated when someone describes it to you. It’s a platformer FPS where you have to carefully manage your guns, which are also cards, and can be fired regularly as well as discarded for a secondary effect (such as a super jump). The beauty comes not only in the balletic way these systems can come together, but in how easily they do. Before you know it you’re puzzling out your routes through each bite-size level with absolute precision to cut down your time further and further. Because it feels so good to pull off these swift victories, you’ll want to achieve full mastery of every level.
BEST BODY HOPPING
FORMAT PS5, PS4 / PUB KEPLER INTERACTIVE / DEV AWACEB
Taking inspiration from New Caledonian folklore and culture, this storybook adventure presents an open world you’ll want to throw yourself into – literally. Protagonist Tchia is a clever girl with the ability to soul jump, allowing her to possess a variety of creatures and inanimate objects for a short period. Sailing around the archipelago presents a number of delightful opportunities for possession; she can s
