We’re about halfway through 2025, and I just now realized that I’ve never written about my favorite games of 2023. I don’t know how that slipped my mind for so long, but better late than never!
The year 2023 was jam-packed with great games - some remasters, some mind-blowing new games, and plenty of awesome roguelikes.
Let’s check ‘em out!
#10: Luck be a Landlord
As mentioned in my post about deckbuilders that are addictive as fuck, Luck be a Landlord is digital crack. It’s a slot machine deckbuilding roguelike that will hook you with how simple the gameplay is, and then keep its talons buried into you with how deep and complex it can become.
The point of each run is to make enough money on the slot machine to pay your landlord. You’ll earn coins after each spin based on the symbols spun on your reels. After each spin, you’re given a choice of symbols to add to your reels. The symbols you choose can have a very big impact on the amount of coins you earn per spin, and you’ll want to mix and match symbols that synergize, helping you earn tons and tons of coins each spin. After so many spins, your rent is due. If you don’t enough coins to pay your rent, it’s game over.
This game is available on Steam and on mobile phones. If you need another game to eat up your spare time, this is one that’ll have your eyes and fingers glued to your phone.
#9: Etrian Odyssey - Origins Collection
The very first blog post that I ever wrote was about this series. On the old SuperPod Saga website I wrote a post about how Etrian Odyssey is Painfully Underappreciated, and I spilled my guts about what I love about that whole series. I ended the post saying the series was pretty much stuck on DS and 3DS - thankfully, this is no longer the case.
Atlus performed some kind of black magic and got the first three Etrian Odyssey games running on Switch and Steam, and I couldn’t be happier. The games look beautiful, sound beautiful, and play just as beautifully. When you first start playing these, the map controls are a little wonky and hard to understand. But the more time you put into them, the easier and more intuitive it gets.
This whole collection was such a big surprise, and I’m extremely happy that I can now play these in HD on my Switch 2, docked or in handheld. I bet they’ll play just as great on Steam Deck.
#8: Hi-Fi Rush
Another huge surprise, totally shadow-dropped on us with no prior announcement or teaser whatsoever. This game was completely not what anyone was expecting out of Tango Gameworks after two Evil Withins and a Ghostwire.
Hi-Fi Rush is such a vibe. The artstyle is cel-shaded and vibrant, making every small detail pop out at you, and objects in the environment subtly dance along with the current beat - which is essential in this game, being a rhythm-action game (think Devil May Cry + Crypt of the Necrodancer). The characters and story are so comedic and so light-hearted, which is a huge breath of fresh air.
This game is on Game Pass and Steam. GO PLAY IT.
#7: Diablo IV
This game totally hooked me, and this was all I played for roughly three months straight. At one point I had to send my Xbox Series S controller in for repair to fix some stick drift, and I just COULD NOT wait for my controller to come back. I went on Amazon and bought one of those sweet Hyperkin Duke controllers because it was cheap and I needed to get back to playing Diablo IV ASAP. As an added bonus, the controller has a little screen that, when pressed, plays the boot-up sequence of the original Xbox.
Not only does the game look GORGEOUS and run extremely well, but character customization was through the roof. Each class could be tooled into one of many builds to fit damn near any playstyle that you could think of.
Do you want a chain lightning sorcerer that excels in crowd control? You got it.
Want a druid that deals insane single target damage using earth magic? Totally doable.
Would you like to play a necromancer that storms the field with skeleton minions and then blows them up for huge damage? Sign right here.
Also, Diablo IV was completely open world and could be played entirely in single player or with friends or randos. There are so many world events and so much post-game content that you’ll pretty much never stop playing. BUT WAIT - THERE’S MORE. Diablo IV is totally crossplay between Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. What a time to be alive.
#6: Backpack Hero
Why did I even stop playing this? Backpack Hero RULES. You’ll crawl dungeons, grabbing loot, talking to NPCs who do different things from healing you, to selling equipment and items, to giving you free XP, and much more. The thing that really sets this game apart from other roguelikes is the inventory system. Backpack Hero basically takes the Resident Evil 4 inventory system and cranks it up to nuclear overdrive.
In Backpack Hero, your inventory is everything. You’ll equip armor, use weapons in battle, consume items, and even use magic directly, but it’s all done from your backpack. You’ll need to finely organize the limited amount of space within your backpack in order to fit all of the cool stuff that you come across. As you gain XP, you’ll level-up and you can expand the space in your backpack. Oh, and there’s a sweet hub town that you’ll build and upgrade as you progress. You’ll even stumble upon NPCs in dungeons that become part of your town.
Backpack Hero is on Steam and Switch and is perfect for handheld play.
#5: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
I don’t know how or why they decided to create a follow-up to an already perfect game, but they sure as hell delivered the goods. Take everything you know and love about Breath of the Wild and crank it up to 23.
Tears of the Kingdom has what I like to call a 3-layer map: underground, above ground, and the sky. You can go literally anywhere in Hyrule, and it’s absolutely breath-taking. And with the new Ultrahand abilties, you can combine things with other things to make some pretty wacky things. You can combine a boulder to a shield, create some wacky vehicles by combining Zonai devices together (devices like a cart, flame emitter, wheels, and even rockets), and you can fly into the sky and explore ancient ruins.
With the Switch 2 upgrade pack, there has never been a better time to experience this game.
#4: Evolings
What do you get when you combine Pokemon with a roguelike? Evolings is exactly that, and it’s just as addictive as it sounds. You’ll start by choosing one of three starter Evolings, and then you’re off to fight, buy items, fight, and fight some more.
The combat is turn-based and resembles Slay the Spire, in the sense that you can see what action your enemy is going to take (attack, defend, heal, etc) and you can plan your strategy accordingly. If you’re not prepared or not paying attention to some enemies, your run is toast. Along the way you’ll be able to recruit more Evolings, potentially fusing them together to create even stronger Evolings. Combined with your relics (items that provide passive bonuses) you can create some incredibly cracked combos.
Evolings is also on Switch and Steam and is a perfect game for some bedtime handheld gaming.
#3: Super Mario RPG (remake)
While I’ve never gotten very far in the original game, I was extremely excited to see this game being remade. It sounds better, looks better, and definitely plays better than the original, all while keeping the vibe and feel of the original game wholly intact.
The biggest differences with this game (besides the new visuals and music) are additional gameplay elements like the chain system, allowing you rack up stat boosts the more you use action commands, and the Triple Moves, where each member of your party teams-up to land a gigantic super move on the enemies.
On top of that, there’s quite a bit of post-game content to keep you occupied after you finish the story. GO BUY IT.
#2: Pizza Tower
A wild combo of Wario Land 4 + zany 90s art style + tunes that sound like they were stripped from a Sega Genesis game - this game is such a treat. Pizza Tower has so much attitude and such an insane vibe to it that I couldn’t help but fall in love with it.
Playing as Peppino Spaghetti, you’ll ascend the titular Pizza Tower and gather Toppins, beat-up bosses, and save your restuarant. It plays a lot like Wario Land 4, where Peppino needs to get to the end of each level, trigger a mechanism, and then make a mad dash back to the beginning of the level in order to escape. What sets it apart is that Peppino is invincible and does not take damage, unless you’re fighting a boss. And the moveset and exploration are an absolute blast to play around with.
Another one that’s available on Switch and Steam for some toilet-time game-jamming. Make sure to listen to the Tales from the Backlog episode where we talked about fucking sweet this game is.
#1: Wildfrost
If you’ve read my previous post about Wildfrost, you’ll know that I’m a huge, huge fan of this game. Even though I’ve pumped countless hours into the other games in this list, Wildfrost was consistently my go-to game when I wanted to junk-the-fuck-out and just play something.
Wildfrost is the type of deckbuilder where your choices and actions greatly affect your run. You’ll need to make sure that your deck is as optimized as possible, your party members synergize and pull their weight, and you’ll need to plan and calculate each move one or more turns in advance before you make them. It’s the type of game where you’ll sit and stare at the screen and analyze every enemy for about an hour before you make your move (for me anyway). The cherry on top of this sundae is the awesome art style, reminiscent of Adventure Time or Regular Show, and the sweet soundtrack.
If you’re looking for a game with lots of complex strategy, punishing but fair combat, and lots of cards, this is one for you. Thankfully it’s on everything now, EVEN MOBILE.
That’s it for now. PEACE.
Chill VGM of the day:
