What are your top 5 must buy games of 2023?

I’ll go from 5 to 1, since backward countdowns are the coolest thing to do!

Starfield: I’m going to throw MS a bone here. I want Starfield to be good. Can Bethesda make a great RPG? Hopefully lol. They haven’t been that great since Skyrim. But here’s to hoping it’s good!

Fire Emblem Engage: Fire Emblem made its come back with Fire Emblem Awakening for the 3DS. Since then, the developers played around with a few ideas, a lot of which seemed superficial (looking at you Three Houses). This one looks like a better return to form, despite the weird anime graphics and hair lol.

Final Fantasy 16: the Final Fantasy games have had a resurgence since 15 came around a few years back and while the whole emo boy band thing was slightly interesting, I’ll take badass protagonist back anytime! But the real thing that stands out here is the combat, and also loving the graphics and cinematics.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2: You may not agree with episodic nature of the Remake, but I loved the original. Seeing my favorite characters back in Midgard and hearing the remix of the OST is a huge treat. The combat is also fantastic and the story goes in a very interesting direction (to say the least).

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: there’s something about Breath of the Wild that makes it a special game. I think for me it was the sense of wonder and exploration, and that atmospheric music too. It brought back some of the feelings I had when playing Ocarina of Time for the first time. Now we just need some badass dungeons!

How about you, SW? What are your top 5 must buy games of 2023?

Starfield

FM8

Fable. :P

• Company of Heroes 3
• Atomic Heart
• Like a Dragon: Ishin
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Alan Wake 2

1. Tears of the Kingdom
2. Fire Emblem Engage
3. Resident Evil 4 Remake
4. Final Fantasy XVI
5. Pikmin 4

Excited for Advance Wars, but still no date. Hoping Atomic Heart is good, i want to play it. Same with Starfield.

You, a Yakuza person? WHEN?!

Since it got an interesting setting. Who'd want to visit modern day Tokyo? Gimme that historic setting.

Zelda will most likely be good, so that might be one.

I'd like Pikmin 4 to be a must-buy, but Pikmin 3 wasn't.

Metroid Prime 4, another case of me wanting it to be a must-buy, but again, Metroid Prime 3 wasn't. And it doesn't look like it will release in 2023.

STALKER 2 is interesting, but the trailer made me worried they'll **** it up. I also have no idea when it's going to be released.

Number of must-buy games in 2023 so far: 0

Starfield

Atomic Heart

Zelda TotK

The Invincible

Alan Wake 2

Cities VR

No Man’s Sky VR— not sure if I can free upgrade.

Advance Wars

Spiderman 2

Skull & Bones, Test Drive Soltace (sp), Assassins Creed Mirage,fifth place tie

Spiderman 2

Final Fantasy 16

Project EVE (Stellar Blade)

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Street Fighter 6

@above_average: Stellar Blade has my attention, hopefully it’s good!

1. Final Fantasy XVI
2. Armored Core VI
3. Tears of the Kingdom
4. Street Fighter 6
5. Spider-Man 2

2023 is going to be a very good year, so good that even games like RE4 Remake, Octopath Traveller II and Wo Long, which I'm very much looking forward to, can't even make the top 5, haha.

@SolidGame_basic: Yes sir indeed. Get Nier Automata vibes with better gfx.

Last trailer really sold the game with the story along with the fantastic graphics and BOOTYY

No Everwild? That means Rare has zero fans left :'(

Cautiously optimistic about Wo Long.

Wish Team Ninja would get with the times and update their dated ass gfx engine. The thing was outdated when the did Nioh on PS4, it's down right offensive on current gen.

@R4gn4r0k:

Not to fear, Everwild will be worth the wait and then some. :P

Everwild reportedly rebooted, now targeting 2024 release date

Rare's Everwild has been "completely rebooted", and it's going to be a while before we get our hands on it, according to a new report.

New IP Everwild was revealed by Rare at X019 but, following the release of two trailers for the title, the developer has been pretty tight-lipped about the Xbox exclusive since - with Everwild noticeably absent from the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase at E3 2021.

According to a report from VGC(opens in new tab), that's because Everwild has been rebooted with a new creative director and a tentative 2024 release window target, with the game's initial design having been "started from scratch"

VGC reports that the team developing Everwild had been struggling with defining "a clear direction for the title". Following the departure of Creative Director Simon Woodroofe from the project last year, Rare veteran Gregg Mayles has since been brought in to lead Everwild's development.

As a result of this leadership change, the game has reportedly been rebooted with a 2024 target in mind.

“The team behind Everwild continue to shape a truly magical experience and remain focused and excited about creating a new game centered around a truly unique, new world,” said Rare executive producer Louise O'Connor, in a statement to VGC.

“Gregg Mayles joined us, late last year as Creative Director, and the team has never been stronger. Since showing the world our Eternals trailer, we have been making progress on all aspects of Everwild.

“The team continues to work hard to realize our vision and to bring the magic of nature in Everwild to life for players around the world.”

While it seems like players won't be embarking on a journey into Everwild soon, it's not the only title Rare is currently working on. Pirate adventure Sea of Thieves continues to grow, having an ambitious crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean announced during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase at E3 2021.

Sea of Thieves crossed 20 million players earlier this year as the game reached its third anniversary since launching in March 2018.

Rare hasn't officially confirmed that Everwild has been rebooted, but we're hoping that we'll get some sort of update on the Xbox exclusive's development in the near future.

@SecretPolice: Sounds good, it's good to read that Sea of Thieves has allowed more time for Everwild. I can't wait to play another singleplayer Rare game. And we also have the sequel to Yooka Laylee from Playtonic coming up.

Starfield

Atomic Heart

NHL 24,every year I hope for a stellar game but I’m left disappointed ☹️.

Redfall

Dragon Quest 12??? Hopefully?

Yeah, I played the Wo Long demo for a couple of hours on PS5, and while it's cross-gen so there may be some compromises, its visuals and performance were solid enough, and I'm sure it's a decent improvement from Nioh.

• STALKER 2
• Atomic Heart
• System Shock
• Alan wake 2
• Redfall

Honorable Mention goes to Space marine 2, Silent hill 2 (if its good, never played original), FF7 remake 2 (if its release on PC most likely 2024), Star wars Jedi survivor.

In what order is this?

In no particular order:

- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

- Resident Evil 4 Remake

- Final Fantasy XVI

- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

- Street Fighter 6

Starfield, Forza Motorsport 8, and Monster Hunter Rise will be on Game Pass. 😎

Random. but who cares? none of those games will be praised by corrupt mainstream media.

@ghosts4ever: Thats cause youre playing games that havnt innovated the genre since the 90s. Theyre just brain dead shooters trying to copy CoD.

(in order)

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

RE4 Remake

Hollow Knight Silksong

Starfield

Don't have a 5th at this time xD

I'm interested in Hogwarts Legacy, Space Marine 2, and Armored Core 6. But I still need to see more gameplay on all of them.

In no particular order

• Spiderman 2
• Starfield
• Company of Heroes 3
• Armored Core 6
• Alan Wake 2

1. Like a Dragon: Gaiden
2. Like a Dragon: Ishin
3. FFVII: Rebirth
4. FFXVI
5. Spider-Man 2

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

RE4make

Armored Core 6

Stalker 2

Atomic Heart

1. Starfield
2. Forza Motorsport 8
3. Redfall
4. Age of Empires 4
5. Tie between Hogwarts and Wo Long

1. Tears of the Kingdom: Breath of the Wild was a surprisingly fresh breath of air for AAA games. I am hoping this will be just as good, if not better than BotW.
2. Forza Motorsport 8. As far as Simcade games go, Forza is the cream of the crop. Hopefully they don't do something as shady as Gran Turismo.
3. Fire Emblem Engage: January release and looks mechanically really solid. Not big on the alleged Gacha elements though.
4. Armored Core 6: Fromsoft usually deliver, and I have been waiting a while for a new armored core game. Nice to get one again.
5. Street Fighter 6: Street Fighter is one of the best action games out there. But after 5 at launch I do have my reservations. Please be good.

I don't even know what's coming out next year for Sony or Nintendo, save for one title or two.

• Resident Evil 4MAKE
• Dead Space Remake (It'll be better than Calisto, because it's already been proven to be good)
• Hogwarts Legacy (Looks very promising. Hope to play it with friends)
• Assassin's Creed Mirage (Haven't liked AC ever since they went the RPG route. This looks to remedy that)

Atomic heart and Starfield are my two must download games on Gamepass 😅.

And I will buy the Cyberpunk 2077 DLC. Freaking loved that game!

Haven't played Cyberpunk yet, hoping by the time I get to it it's in a great state lol.

1. Spiderman 2

2. Resident Evil 4 remake

3. Final Fantasy 16

4. Street Fighter 6

5. Diablo 4

6. Tears of the Kingdom

FF7 rebirth , Tekken 8 would also be at the top of my list but I don't think they are coming in 2023.

LoZ: TotK

Atomic Heart

Hogwarts Legacy

Star Wars Jedi Survivor

Pikmin 4

Nothing set in stone for me in this day and age. Im looking at:

1. Atomic Heart
2. Stalker2
3. SShock Remake
4. Esports Boxing Club
5. Satisfactory (if it ever comes out of SteamEA)

Also got my eye on:

COH2

Homeworld 3

KSP2

Sons of the Forest

Aliens: Dark Descent

FFVII Part2

And I might still get Calisto Protocol if I havent forgotten about it before Steam sales next year.

• Spiderman 2
• Atomic Heart

• Star Wars Jedi Survivor

TotK and SF6 are pretty much a day 1 lock. DS2 assuming that's next year. Been itching to fire up another run of DS.

Silksong, Stalker 2, Tekken 8, FF16, RE4, all have my interest. Assuming they launch next year and go well. Very confident in T8 and Silksong, the others, just have to wait and see.

Always best to wait, game can only get better. But sometimes games in ea are better than a lot of full blown releases and I think Satisfactory is one of them. Occasionally come across a resource that currently has no use, but otherwise been smooth sailing and a good time for me.

Only 55 hrs in, not a lot for these types of games. Just figure surely any major issues would've presented themselves by now.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Octopath Traveler 2

Resident Evil 4 Remake

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

Starfield

that would be pretty cool if DS2 comes out next year. Didn't get the impression that it would.

Yeah same. Seemingly loaded year anyways, so all good.

Did the whole mega nerd trailer analysis lol. Came to a lot of the same conclusions/theories as others, but there's one small bit I haven't seen others talk about. One that leads me to think the game will have more emphasis on action (as in combat).

Which yeah, cool if they improve upon that. Combat and stealth were mostly just serviceable. Just hope they also push harder into the whole survival against harsh terrain/elements. As well as the asynchronous multiplayer infrastructure/items/gear etc. Don't want them to shy away from the games more unique elements.

Honestly can't think of 5.

Pick up Street Fighter 6, but just so busy with irl stuff atm can't see myself pouring the same investment as 5.

Like UnderRail a lot, as far as i'm concerned the greatest game no asshole has actually played. Esp on this forum. Looking forward to Infusion which is a stand lone campaign.

Guess Stalker 2, have a feeling might **** it up, so pretty tepid.

Stalker 2

Baldur's gate 3

Final Fantasy XVI

Botw2

Resi4

follow ups Wo Long, Silksong, Armored Core

I can think of three top if my head: Zelda, FF16, and FF7R Part 2

I didn't read much about the the fan theories, but one person thought that Kojima was messing with us and that DS2 isn't real, but a front for another game lol.

Jedi Survivor. Everything else is up for grabs.

Hmm. Yeah not seeing that, but guess I'd have to hear his reasoning. Of course Kojima does fakeouts and I even think this trailer might have one. But the whole thing? Seems a bit much lol.

Could say it's weird that it just says DS2 and not a full title. It's been said that they intend to make other game types in that universe. And if you think about how it all ended, does it really make sense to have someone trekking across the US, building infrastructure, connecting others, etc.

Yeah, too little info to be sure either way.

Can't rank hype for myself, but seemingly the stand out next buys would be: Dead Space remake, Jedi Survivor, next Legend of Zelda Tears of Something-Something, Resident Evil 4 remake, and Fatal Frame Mask Of the Lunar Eclipse re-release. That just covers first 3 months next year. And that's everything I can't play on Game Pass on release, so I am hyped for a lot more in coming months.