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So we've reached the point where it's pretty much unquestionable that 2023 is the greatest year ever in gaming, right?

Will 2023 Be the Greatest Year Ever in Gaming?

  • Yes

    Votes: 92 21.6%
  • No (which year beats it?)

    Votes: 333 78.4%

  • Total voters
    425

analog_future

Resident Crybaby
2023 now claims the highest reviewed 2D Mario game ever released:

53267343046_2b8fb044ce_c.jpg
 

analog_future

Resident Crybaby
It's more conspiratorial to believe these forces don't exist. Early access is everything.

Weird that publishers decided to really pool all of their money for good reviews in 2023 specifically rather than past years. Too bad Bethesda didn't pony up for that 90+ review average for Starfield.


And the checks must've been just completely lost in the mail for games like Redfall, The Last of Us Part I PC port, and Forspoken.



Always Sunny Reaction GIF
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Weird that publishers decided to really pool all of their money for good reviews in 2023 specifically rather than past years. Too bad Bethesda didn't pony up for that 90+ review average for Starfield.


And the checks must've been just completely lost in the mail for games like Redfall, The Last of Us Part I PC port, and Forspoken.



Always Sunny Reaction GIF

Oh no. The effect has been going on for years. The effect is also more subtle than you suggest.
 
I don’t know if I’m jaded or what but the only 2024 game I was interested with and could be bothered playing this year was Starfield and it was a mid tier disappointment.
 

Elog

Member
Apart from BG (that is fantastic), this year has brought very little that both have been good as well as something that I have been interested in.
 

MirageMew2

Member
It definitely has been a stellar year but I do feel like we’re missing an Elden Ring or BotW moment (and no that did not occur with TotK).
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
It definitely has been a stellar year but I do feel like we’re missing an Elden Ring or BotW moment (and no that did not occur with TotK).
I can’t speak for anyone else but for me that game was Armored Core VI, I LOVED Elden Ring, I put 300 hours + and platinum the game and can’t wait for DLC…….but my god I can’t remember last time I was this obsessed with game, I platinum ACVI game as but I still want more and just stop thinking about the game.

I think ACVI right beside Sekiro, they are my FROM game…. I become big fan of how Masaru Yamamura designs combat.
 
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BG3 is the gaming enthusiast’s game. It is far too niche to be considered a “moment”.
Felt pretty huge to me. It's been at the top of the steam charts since it released and hasn't budged. And it was definitely part of the zeitgeist for a while.

If Elden Ring was the coming out party for the formerly niche Souls games, then I don't see how BG3 isn't that for CRPG's.
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Yall... it's still not even remotely close.


Go look at that. Month by month.

No year comes close. Not even close. If you don't agree I am 100% certain it is because you are not old enough to understand just how revolutionary it was. The whole industry took a massive leap forward while churning out legendary diamonds that are still beautiful to this day even in their aged state. Everything good even this year is STILL just iterating off what made that year beautiful.
 

Alan Wake

Member
An amazing year for sure. It just keeps delivering. A lot of sequels and not many new and exciting franchises (although indies like Cocoon, Bramble and Planet of Lana are all loveable) but apart from that 2023 is just the best year in gaming since forever. Or since 1998.
 
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Markio128

Gold Member
It’s almost impossible to determine what the best year is/was in gaming, however, the aforementioned 1998 is legendary.

I’ve had a good time this year, but I’d put that down in part to getting one of my favourite franchises in VR, and VR in general.

A lot of the games this year I haven’t even completed, and quite a few of them, I personally believe, have been overhyped/overrated. I know for certain that I found games released in 1998 far more compelling at the time, but maybe that’s because gaming was changing so quickly and was more exciting (for me). TLOZ OOC was riding on the crest of Mario 64, and was an absolute joy to play - I didn’t put that one down until I had completed it at least 2 or 3 times. I probably haven’t completed half of TOTK and I’ve grown up with Zelda.

I’ve got fonder memories of even a game like Body Harvest, than I likely will of anything released this year.

I still haven’t completed BG3 or FF16 either. I bounced off Starfield pretty hard after about 8 or 9 hours. Spider-Man 2 is pure fun, so I’ll definitely be completing it soon, and for that reason alone, it could end up being my personal GOTY.
 

darthkarki

Member
This year has been absolutely fantastic, no doubt. An absolute flood of incredible games.

In deciding what years were the greatest ever though, I still think a couple other years would top this one in one important way: originality. The games this year have been excellent, but almost all are sequels, remakes, or otherwise refinements of existing ideas and franchises.

2007 is the year that always pops into my head due to not only the incredible sequels and games from existing franchises:
  • Super Mario Galaxy
  • Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  • Halo 3
  • God of War II
  • Team Fortress 2
  • Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
  • Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
  • Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
  • Half-Life 2: Episode Two
  • Tomb Raider: Anniversary
  • Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
  • etc.
But also an unbelievable number of new, original games that created brand new franchises that are now some of the biggest in gaming:
  • Assassin's Creed
  • BioShock
  • Crackdown
  • Crysis
  • Mass Effect
  • Portal
  • Rock Band
  • Skate
  • The Witcher
  • Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
It still blows my mind that all of those franchises started the same year. And that's not even all of them! That's just the highlights! Seriously, check this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_in_video_games
 

MagnesD3

Member
No but it is in the tier of great years below the only 2 right answers. The 2 best years in gaming are 1998 and 2007, the amount of varied very high quality video games that influenced many top 10s in gaming out there and the culture behind them will probably never be surpassed.
 
This year has been absolutely fantastic, no doubt. An absolute flood of incredible games.

In deciding what years were the greatest ever though, I still think a couple other years would top this one in one important way: originality. The games this year have been excellent, but almost all are sequels, remakes, or otherwise refinements of existing ideas and franchises.

2007 is the year that always pops into my head due to not only the incredible sequels and games from existing franchises:
  • Super Mario Galaxy
  • Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  • Halo 3
  • God of War II
  • Team Fortress 2
  • Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
  • Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
  • Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
  • Half-Life 2: Episode Two
  • Tomb Raider: Anniversary
  • Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
  • etc.
But also an unbelievable number of new, original games that created brand new franchises that are now some of the biggest in gaming:
  • Assassin's Creed
  • BioShock
  • Crackdown
  • Crysis
  • Mass Effect
  • Portal
  • Rock Band
  • Skate
  • The Witcher
  • Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
It still blows my mind that all of those franchises started the same year. And that's not even all of them! That's just the highlights! Seriously, check this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_in_video_games
Of those games, I completed and really enjoyed:

Super Mario Galaxy
CoD 4
Halo 3
Ratchet and Clank
Assassin's Creed
Bioshock
Crackdown
Mass Effect
Uncharted

That's way more than I'll play this year, so as much as recency bias make me want to love this year more than any other, I have to bow down to 2007.
 

DryvBy

Gold Member
Terrific year but some of these heavy hitters are just remakes. Good remakes but remakes. 1998 still takes the cake for timeless classics.
 

Sojiro

Member
Yall... it's still not even remotely close.


Go look at that. Month by month.

No year comes close. Not even close. If you don't agree I am 100% certain it is because you are not old enough to understand just how revolutionary it was. The whole industry took a massive leap forward while churning out legendary diamonds that are still beautiful to this day even in their aged state. Everything good even this year is STILL just iterating off what made that year beautiful.
Yeah 98 is such a powerhouse year, I personally lean to 2000, but God damn 98 is so stacked. While the current year has been great, especially compared to the last 10, I still think it falls short to many of the years people have mentioned in this thread. A good portion of the high scoring games this year are rereleases of great games. I expect the upcoming Mario RPG to score well too (and I am looking forward to it!), but it will still be a remaster of a previous game.

On another note I do enjoy the OP posting each games 90+ score saying everyone that disagrees is wrong, yet the poll is heavily against his opinion lol.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
1998 will never be touched.
I barely even played videogames this year.

Things like Street Fighter VI ended up being pure garbage. Zelda, no themed dungeons too samey open world snooze fest.
It was cool to see Armored Core return I guess - but that game didnt set the world on fire. The rest is all overrated + over-hyped, forgotten in a month type stuff.

Its called reverse spoiling - the past 5+ years in gaming has been so pathetic that anything new seems much more than what it actually is.

The most exciting game released in 2023 was the Sega Saturn Tactics Ogre fan translation.
 

Mortisfacio

Member
'2023: the year that 85-95 game scores were given out like candy...'

Of the games I played this year, the only score I strongly disagree with was TotK. I got bored and probably will never finish the game. Definitely not a 96 for me. Some other games like D4 I think were higher than they should be, but TotK was the most egregious one personally.
 
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AngelMuffin

Member
Definitely the best year in recent memory but only because games slated for release in ‘22 were pushed back due to the pandemic, etc.

Funny, I’ve played most of the AAA games released thus far but my fav is Sea of Stars.
 

Phase

Member
And how many in your list are new IP's? Very few. Decent year but the AAA industry is still creatively bankrupt.
 
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