Players can choose to be an elf, dwarf or even a half-orc in “Baldur’s Gate 3.” (Larian Studios)
Years from now, when historians look back on the best times to be a gamer, the past 12 months will be high on anybody’s list. It has been so good that limiting the crop to a Top 10 list was too difficult. There were just too many stellar projects.
But if 2023 will be known for one thing, it’s that this was the year of the role-playing game. The genre flourished with different interpretations. Some, such as “Sea of Stars,” were throwbacks to the heyday of the 16-bit era. Others took a more action-oriented approach or reinvented themselves. Whatever the case, players found plenty of entertainment value because RPGs tend to be long endeavors.
Of all the RPGs, one title raised the bar and set a new standard for epic adventures, giving players a great example of what a studio that has honed its craft can do.
1. “Baldur’s Gate 3” — Larian Studios has toiled putting its own stamp on the computer RPG. With the “Divinity: Original Sin” series, the team followed the path established by the BioWare classic while adding its own unique spin. After two successful games, they began work on this dream sequel.
What makes Larian games special is that they give players the freedom to handle dungeons and quests with multiple solutions. The developers combine the old-school turn-based mechanics of the classic “Baldur’s Gate” with a more elastic approach they’ve established in “Divinity.” It almost feels like players are on their own “Dungeons & Dragon” campaign and the solutions they can come up with are only limited by their imaginations and the game’s surprisingly flexible mechanics.
Throw in a deep quest full of memorable characters, and this is an RPG that will stand the test of time.
2. “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” — It’s rare for Nintendo to make a direct sequel to its flagship franchise, but “Breath of the Wild” was so chockful of potential that producer Eiji Aonuma and his team created a follow-up that perfects some of the gameplay frontiers they were exploring.
The result is a “Zelda” adventure that gives players more freedom to come up with their own solutions to puzzles. Even though “Tears of the Kingdom” takes place in the same Hyrule, the changes the developers made make it feel like a fresh adventure.
3. “Alan Wake 2” — For 13 years, fans of the cult-classic horror game have waited for a sequel. Remedy Entertainment rewarded their patience with one of the most tense, nerve-racking and visionary projects to come out in ages. It will surprise players as they delve into the mystery over Alan Wake’s disappearance and return. It also has best level you’ll play all year.
4. “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” — If RPGs are like novels, then the old-school Nintendo platformers are like poetry. They distill the essence of video game fun in the simple premise of going from point A to point B. The levels are often challenging and delightful, but Nintendo also found a way to inject wit of all things into the 2-D platformer and that’s an element that hasn’t been seen much in video games.
5. “Diablo IV” — Blizzard returned to form with this sequel to the beloved franchise. Yes, it retains that addictive hack-and-slash gameplay with the focus on grabbing loot and growing more powerful, but this adventure breaks new ground by adding “World of Warcraft” gameplay elements into the mix. That creates a new layer of fun to the dungeon crawl as players try to build their ultimate warriors.
6. “Street Fighter 6” — Capcom rewrote what a fighting game can be with this ambitious title. It contains an in-depth single-player campaign where fans will create their own fighter and train them with the World Warriors as mentors. Meanwhile, on the multiplayer side, it captures the feel of challenging a player at an old-school arcade. This chapter breaks new ground on what the genre can be.
7. “Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon” — Before they became known for their “Souls” games, FromSoftware worked on this series of mech games. After more than a decade, the developer has returned to the series and blended some of the studio’s hallmark difficulty in this action-heavy title. It’s an effort that will not only test players’ quick-twitch reflexes, but also how well they can build a mech for different combat situations.
8. “Pikmin 4” — One of the hardest PC genres to translate to consoles is the real-time strategy game. This Nintendo series has been one of the best attempts at bringing the experience to the living room, but control issues were holding it back. That is until “Pikmin 4.” The entry perfects how players can command a small army of the titular creatures as the Pikmin help a rookie Rescue Corps member save crewmates and Captain Olimar.
9. “Resident Evil 4” — One of the greatest survival/horror games of all time received a top-to-bottom remake. The developers took great pains in delivering a version of the title that the original team had in mind while also updating gameplay and pushing out stunning visuals. The remake is a way for a new generation of fans to appreciate an all-time classic.
10. “Starfield” — The much-anticipated game from Bethesda is a culmination of all the experiments and gameplay additions the team has added to the “Fallout” games. The base building, the user-generated content and other elements all blend together in this sci-fi epic as players join a group of explorers called Constellation and dig deep into the mysteries of the galaxy.
11. “Final Fantasy XVI” — One thing that the venerable franchise had been missing is creating a memorable story. A first-rate tale and compelling characters can elevate an entry from good iteration into enduring and legndary classic. (See Square Enix’s efforts on “Final Fantasy VII.”) “Final Fantasy XVI” offers both a breathtaking narrative and appealing characters by taking cues from anime to create a compelling campaign about a ragtag group of survivors trying to battle empires and an ancient evil. It’s one of the better chapters to come out in years.
Honorable mentions: “Sea of Stars,” “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2,” “Dead Space” remake.
