Here are Eurogamer’s favourite games of 2023

Listen. There have been a lot of great games this year. Maybe more than in any year we can easily remember. Because of this we’ve handled our top 50 list of our best games a little differently.

Below you’ll find two groups of games from 2023. Going backwards, at the bottom you’ll find our top 10 in an ordered list. And above that you’ll find the other 40 we really, really loved, but we’ve arranged these alphabetically.

Honestly, that’s because, with a year like this, if we’d tried to order them all we’d still be arguing over it. And in a year this great – and a year this painful for the people who make games and work around them – that would be no good. So here are our favourite 50 games of the year. We hope you can find something in here that passed you by and will make for a lovely discovery.

Be safe, and thanks for sticking with Eurogamer in 2023.

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Our top 50 games of 2023

Against the Storm

PC

Emerging from a long span in Early Access, Against the Storm is a roguelite city builder, and it’s every bit as exciting as that combination makes it sound. Tackle the wilderness, control your economy, and you’ll likely find yourself swept away by these complex delights.

Here’s our Against the Storm review.

A Highland Song

PC, Switch

A wild and windy race through some of the most evocative landscapes in video games, A Highland Song builds its mountains and crags out of paper-thin art, but the end result is mesmerising and – most of all – genuinely transporting.

Here’s our A Highland Song review.

Akka Arrh

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Switch

Video games’ digital romantic has never been in finer form than with this reworking of a difficult Atari design. If you’re after sound and light and perfectly balanced waves of arcade excitement, this is unmissable. It might even top Space Giraffe.

Here’s our Akka Arrh review.

Amarantus

PC

2023 was a great year for visual novels, and Amarantus is one of our favourites. A tale of revolution that responds brilliantly to repeated playthroughs, Amarantus made our reviewer invoke Walter Benjamin, and there’s probably no higher praise than that.

Here’s our Amarantus review.

Amnesia: The Bunker

PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox X/S

Amnesia chucks you in with another terrifying AI-driven monster in The Bunker, but this time the bunker in question is going through World War One. Horror and a certain amount of stress ensues, inevitably.

Here’s our Amnesia: The Bunker review.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S

From Software leaves the Souls games behind and returns to the realm of giant stompy mechs in this blisteringly entertaining adventure. Huge robots, endless contrails and the glow of radioactive plasma combine to create something wild and memorable.

Here’s our Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon review.

Bahnsen Knights

PC

LCB’s Pixel Pulps imagine schlock horror as cursed CGA games from the late 1980s. Except schlock horror isn’t really fair, as the gorgeous, minimalist writing elevates these tales of cultists and monsters into the realm of literature. Unmissable.

Here’s our Bahnsen Knights review.

Birth

PC

Urban loneliness is the theme here, but the treatment allows for one of the most distinct and imaginative puzzle games in years. Using faded textbook colours and a gloriously doomy soundtrack, this is the story of a person in search of a friend – and an attempt to build that friend from all the available pieces their neighbourhood offers.

Here’s our Birth review.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Switch

A homage to Jet Set Radio that’s so gloriously open-hearted you can’t begrudge its many borrowings, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk has a few ideas of its own that might even improve on Sega’s original design. Levels are larger and perhaps less intricate, but the spirit of a true classic sings once more.

Here’s our Bomb Rush Cyberfunk review.

Chants of Sennaar

PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Switch

One of the year’s biggest, sweetest surprises, Chants of Sennaar busts out the architect’s pencil to deliver a mysterious, intricate world in which the player uncovers not just one language but a whole handful. In moving between different tongues, different cultures emerge, all as the game moves further up an ancient mountain. We didn’t see this game coming. Don’t miss out.

Here’s our Chants of Sennaar review.

Cobalt Core

PC, Switch

FTL meets Slay the Spire is the simple pitch, but this game is too inventive and warm-hearted to keep you spotting references for long. Race through space, battle with cards, and explore the unknown. Oh yes, and say hello to the frog captain whose ship keeps trying to shoot itself. Brilliant stuff.

Here’s our Cobalt Core review.

Dave the Diver

PC, Switch

Indie game or something else, Dave the Diver was a genuine phenomenon this year, and it’s easy to see why. Here’s the perfect summer game: by day you explore an ever-changing lagoon as you hunt for fish, treasure, and the solution to a vast, ancient mystery, and then every night you manage a sushi restaurant and serve the food you caught.

Here’s our Dave the Diver review.

El Paso, Elsewhere

PC, Xbox One, Xbox X/S

This year’s most stylish game borrows the blunt aesthetics of PS1 horror and the dive-and-slow-mo of Max Payne, but the brew it concocts is entirely distinct. It’s a trip to hell. It’s a love story. It’s an endless night in a motel right out of indie cinema from the 1990s. Cor.

Here’s our El Paso, Elsewhere review.

Final Fantasy 16

PS5

Combat sings even as side quests wither slightly in this grand blockbuster adventure. The younger generation wrestles against problematic gods, so there’s a certain topicality in the mix too.

Here’s our Final Fantasy 16 review.

Finity.

iOS, requires Apple Arcade

Every year needs at least one grimly compulsive touchscreen puzzler. This year it was Finity., a fresh spin on match-three that has ice cream colours, a delightful soundtrack of pings and clicks, and a central wraparound mechanic that had us playing for hours.

Here’s our Finity. review.

Football Manager 2024

PC, PS5, Xbox X/S

Such is the pedigree of Football Manager, you could argue there should always be one on any top 50 list, from any year. But this year’s has been particularly joyous, as a couple of new player roles and significant under-the-hood tinkering make positional play – the dizzying carousel of midfield rotations that’s now the philosophy of choice for the top coaches of the world – finally come to life.

Here’s our Football Manager 2024 review.

Goodbye Volcano High

PC, PS4, PS5

Another great visual novel in 2023, this one focusing on the final year of high school for a bunch of dinosaurs. The writing’s sharp and the music is even sharper. This is not a game to miss.

Here’s our Goodbye Volcano High review.

Hi-Fi Rush

PC, Xbox X/S

Stealth-dropped games always feel like an extra treat, even before you throw in Game Pass, but Hi-Fi Rush was much more than just its delivery method. Blending combat, traversal and music until you can’t pull them apart, Tango’s game also delivered a bright cartoon art style with a lot of love for halftone. Swoon.

Here’s our Hi-Fi Rush review.

Honkai: Star Rail

PC, iOS, Android

Following up on a mega hit like Genshin Impact is presumably not the easiest thing in the world, but Honkai: Star Rail handles itself well. This is another role-playing gacha affair, enlivened by beautiful art and generous design.

Here’s our Honkai: Star Rail review.

Humanity

PC, PS4, PS5

The follow-up to Tetris Effect is a puzzler about programming the movement of crowds. It’s a game that would have worked beautifully on the PS1, but there’s something thrilling about the sheer amount of people Humanity manages to cram onto the screen using modern tech. Oh yes, and you play as a dog? Sold.

Here’s our Humanity review.

Jusant

PC, PS5, Xbox X/S

So many of our favourite memories of 2023 are found on Jusant’s near-endless mountain. Set-pieces and narrative beats are all great, but the real joy is in the moments where it’s just you, your rope, and a rockwall that needs to be solved. Fantastical and also densely realistic, this is video game climbing to dream about. A free solo option next, pls.

Here’s our Jusant review.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

PS5

Nobody makes blockbuster games charming quite like Insomniac, and with two Spider-Men, the team has plenty of opportunities to warm hearts even as it raises pulses. New York’s bigger, the stakes are more intense, and it’s just a shame that some crucial accessibility options have had to wait for a patch.

Here’s our Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 review.

Moonring

PC

The term roguelike gets bandied around a lot, but if any game deserves it, it’s Moonring, because it’s almost exactly like – and inspired by – the original Rogue game that kicked it all off. It’s one person’s time machine back to the 1980s RPGs – the Ultimas, the Rogues – that inspired so much after them, and as such, it can feel abruptly different when you begin. But stick with it and its charms will begin to beam through, and you’ll begin to see why these games had such an influence to begin with.

Here’s our Moonring review.

Remnant 2

PC, PS5, Xbox X/S

Ranged and melee combat against monsters and vile bosses comes alive in co-op in this bruising action game. It’s a blast on the surface and surprisingly rich with cleverness underneath it all.

Here’s our Remnant 2 review.

Resident Evil 4

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox X/S

Any more daunting tasks than updating a genuine classic for a new era? Resident Evil 4 threads the needle beautifully, cleaving to the original design for huge chunks but making sure any improvements really count. Dare we say: bingo?

Here’s our Resident Evil 4 review.

Roto Force

PC, Android, iOS

Roto Force takes the twin-stick shooter and flips it inside out. You’re stuck to the wall shooting inwards, but you can dash through the air and dance around your enemies with timing alone. Throw in some lovely surprising level designs and an endless visual imagination and you have a game that is not to be missed. Warning: it can be super, super hard.

Here’s our Roto Force review.

Saltsea Chronicles

PC, PS5, Switch

Take to the waves as an entire boatload of heroes in this gorgeous and lightly handled exploration of environment, cultures, and personalities. The sea has risen and the world that remains is transformed. There’s a mystery to solve, but, more importantly, connections to be made, and joy to be found. Luminous stuff.

Here’s our Saltsea Chronicles review.

Sea of Stars

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S

Beloved SNES RPGs ride again in Sea of Stars, which manages to bottle the magic of 16-bit adventuring without ever giving way to sheer nostalgia. It helps that clever use of colour and light means the game is an absolute beauty, too.

Here’s our Sea of Stars review.

Sludge Life 2

PC

Sludge Life 2 doesn’t do much to evolve the Sludge Life formula, but that formula was pretty much perfect from the start. Brace yourself for another compact open-world adventure seen through the buzzing fish-eye lens of an almighty hangover. Explore the swamp, smoke cigs, and mess around with dangerous technology. What is all this sweet work worth, etc etc?

Here’s our Sludge Life 2 review.

Street Fighter 6

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S

Wes may have left us, but at least we got his verdict on Street Fighter 6 before he went. And what he found was a classic game that was successfully starting to embrace modern elements of design. Lovely stuff. And miss you, Wes!

Here’s our Street Fighter 6 review.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Switch

2D Mario has never been more frenetic or surprising than in this secrets-stuffed game. Levels rewrite themselves around you as creatures stampede, platforms melt, and, in a few cases, you even get to walk on the walls. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is brisk, inventive, and scattered with popping candy joy.

Here’s our Super Mario Bros. Wonder review.

Super Mario RPG

Switch

The perfect Christmas game? Almost definitely. This lovely light touch remake of a brisk, compact RPG would be a treat even if it didn’t have Mario in. With him, though, it remains both inviting and gorgeously odd. A few accessibility features would have completed the package, though.

Here’s our Super Mario RPG review.

Synapse

PS5, requires PSVR2

Synapse, you had us at first-person shooting with the kinetic and spooky smash-and-grab powers of Psi-Ops. But throw the whole thing into VR, and give it a cyber-candy aesthetic with a limited, perfectly pitched colour scheme? You are spoiling us, madames.

Here’s our Synapse review.

Tchia

PC, PS4, PS5

Tchia gives you a whole archipelago to explore in a compact adventure that takes a lot of its emphasis from Ubi open-worlders and the traversal ideas of the recent Zeldas. More than that, though, it submerges you in a specific culture, and while the narrative has some strange tonal shifts, it remains a treat to play.

Here’s our Tchia review.

Terra Nil

PC and smartphones via Netflix

Terra Nil gives you the power to reverse the harmful effect humans have had on the Earth. It’s a reverse city-builder, really. You start with a barren piece of land – a piece of land leeched dry by humanity – and then you regrow it. You use an array of futuristic technology to bring entire biomes back to life, returning rain to lands, animals to lands, and ice to lands. It’s heady stuff. And then – and this is the most brilliant part – you pack up all of your equipment again and get out, leaving nothing behind.

Here’s our Terra Nil review.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood

PC, Switch

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood had us at the point where it let us make our own Tarot cards. But there’s much more to it than that. This is a complex game about community and identity as well as divination and witchcraft. It’s beautiful, and filled with wrenching choices.

Here’s our The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood review.

Thirsty Suitors

PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox X/S

What a dazzling game. Thirsty Suitors is an adventure that includes turn-based battles, open-world skating, and the tricky embrace of family. Come for the action, stay for some delicious recipes.

Here’s our Thirsty Suitors review.

Turbo Overkill

PC

Unapologetic – that’s what Turbo Overkill is. It knows what it wants to be and it is it, right away, from the moment you begin. This is a love letter to the Quakes and Dooms of the olden days, except, because it knows it’s playing to an already appreciative audience, it doesn’t feel the need to dilute anything, so you get max power, max sugar, from the get-go. There’s no filler here – it’s all banger.

Here’s our Turbo Overkill review.

Venba

PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X/S

Venba will take you about an hour to play, but it will linger in the mind for months. Explore the experiences of an Indian mum and her family transplanted to Canada through the food they share together and the memories they make. It’s generous, magical stuff.

Here’s our Venba review.

Void Stranger

PC

With perhaps the best name of any game on this list, Void Stranger is a proper 2023 classic. It’s a 2D sokoban adventure at heart, but this core design is riddled with complexities and ambiguities. The Steam page promises “several stages of frustration.” We’re in!

Our top 10 games of 2023

10. Alan Wake 2

PC, PS5, Xbox X/S

An unlikely sequel to the 360 cult classic (to quote our review of the original, “your truck is making a noise like a bear having a…”) Alan Wake returned this year to push PC hardware and the limits of audiences’ sensibilities with some more postmodern frights. Come for the visual splendour, stay for the musical interlude. No word from us on whether that bear makes another appearance.

Here’s our Alan Wake 2 review.

9. Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew

PC, PS5, Xbox X/S

Shadow Gambit is a stealth-based tactical game about ghost pirates and cursed treasure, and if that wasn’t enough, it’s from one of the best teams in the business. It’s a glorious game, but a heart-breaking one, as well. This is the team’s final game, yet another victim of 2023.

Here’s our Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew review

8. A Space for the Unbound

PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PS4, PS5

It’s the end of school and the end of the world in this poignant, perceptive game that effortlessly explores some difficult human territory. Filled with love and insight, it also includes a lot of cats. What more could we ask for?

Here’s our A Space for the Unbound review.

7. The Banished Vault

PC

Space exploration? An interstellar Gothic monastery? And it all looks like it was printed by Durer? Luckily, The Banished Vault is every bit as fascinating, challenging, and overwhelming as the sales pitch. This is an astonishing piece of game design and sheer game conception. It’s not for everyone, but that’s part of what makes it such a thrill.

Here’s our The Banished Vault review.

6. Pikmin 4

Switch

Long in development, Pikmin 4 still snuck up on people when it came out this year. Tom was utterly won over by its colour, joy, and generous blend of puzzling and strategy. If you’re undecided, there’s a demo so you can wet your beak.

Here’s our Pikmin 4 review.

5. Mediterraneo Inferno

PC

Bold and unforgettable, Mediterraneo Inferno is a visual novel that deals with grief, passion and secrets. Three friends go on holiday over the summer, and what emerges is one of the most thoughtful examinations of deeply human themes in any game we can remember.

Here’s our Mediterraneo Inferno review.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Switch

Don’t believe anyone telling you this is just DLC that got out of hand. The map may be familiar, but Tears of the Kingdom’s new player powers make for a game with almost endless potential. Save the world and break the curse, sure, but don’t forget to make an improbable flying machine that sets everything it touches on fire too.

Here’s our The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review.

3. Rytmos

PC, Switch, Android, iOS

Of all the games on this list, it would be the biggest shame if this one passed you by. Rytmos is a gorgeous musical puzzler, with ingenious solutions that always yield to playfulness and experimentation. But more than that, it’s a journey into some of the most fascinating areas of world music. Come for the challenge, stay for the Ethiopian Jazz. 2023 games at their most generous.

Here’s our Rytmos review.

2. Baldur’s Gate 3

PC, Xbox X/S, PS5

Horny and bloodthirsty by turn, Baldur’s Gate 3 was probably the smash hit of the year. This is a role-playing game of depth and imagination, with an astonishing amount of space for player expressiveness. It’s the consummate blockbuster.

Here’s our Baldur’s Gate 3 review.

1. Cocoon

PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X/S

Just describing Cocoon is a pretty exciting process, so just imagine what it’s like to play. Explore a series of fantastical worlds that exist within spheres, and carry those spheres inside each of the different worlds as physical objects. It’s a puzzle game, but really it’s art and design coming together to deliver a series of seemingly impossible epiphanies. In 2023 there was no headier brew.

Here’s our Cocoon review.