My most anticipated games of 2023

 Eight titles scheduled for 2023 that range from making me curious to hyped.

The second ´end of the year list that drops in the New Year because I´m that on top of things' is the one that looks ahead instead of back. The one that looks at all the games that are currently scheduled for the year, looks at what looks fun to play and hope they don´t all get delayed into 2024. Hooray!

So, let´s look at the 8 video games scheduled for 2023 that I´m looking forward to. Some just make me curious. Others are experiences I´ve waited years for. Some I´ll buy on day one and others will likely never end up on my shelf because that´s just how it goes. You can’t buy everything. Oh, and one more thing. I’m covering these games by the order of their release dates, with the undated ones placed at the bottom. Just easier that way. 

Now, let´s dive in!

Fire Emblem Engage

Release date: January 20
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch

Oh, how the mighty slowly stumble downwards. Don´t get me wrong, I still like Fire Emblem but my enthusiasm for it has dwindled over the years. Where Fire Emblem Fates was THE game of 2016 for me, with each subsequent entry, my excitement for it dropped. I bought Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia on day one but never finished it, even after multiple attempts. I got Fire Emblem: Three Houses a few days after launch and enjoyed it very much. Played it for nearly 100 hours but never felt the urge to play the three other paths or Cindered Shadows.

Why am I telling you this? Because it explains why Fire Emblem Engage is rather low on the priority list. The game looks good and the previews that have just come out are promising, but doesn’t ‘hype’ me. I still like Fire Emblem and SRPG but little things have piled up to the point we are now. Mainly, a form of SRPG fatigue, a broader horizon and its similarities to Heroes and Warriors.

Fire Emblem and SRPGs are, to me, more of a commitment than even JRPGs are. They just feel ‘ heavier’ and more taxing. The entire strategy angle and these games tendency to have a very clear division between the battles and the other elements. It’s not a type of game that I can just play any day, anytime. I’ve got to be in the mood for it. I just played Triangle Strategy and don’t feel the desire to dig into another SRPG at the moment.

Since those early days of the 3DS when Fire Emblem made up a 3rd of the franchises I follow I know have a much bigger library. A lot more games in my backlog to play and coming out I want to play, both on the Switch and PS5. There’s stuff I like better now, like Horizon. The ‘returning characters’ aspect also doesn’t thrill me. It reminds me too much of Fire Emblem: Heroes and Fire Emblem Warriors. Two title’s I don’t like very much.

It is, however, a perfect addition to my Birthday list. Something I wouldn’t buy for myself really but a fun game to get a gift.

Forspoken 

Release date: January 24
Platform(s): PlayStation 5, PC

Next up on the release schedule is the Forspoken; a game that’s a bit weird for me. Weird in that I honestly have a hard time explaining why it’s still on my radar, to begin with. While initially looking like a promising ‘modern-day person stuck in a fantasy land’ title, the game started to show its flaws with each and every outing. The bad dialogue, the abrasiveness of the foul-mouthed protagonist that is Freya Holland, the stiff character animations, the bad UI and clunky controls etc. The latter made me struggle quite a bit in the demo that’s currently up in the PlayStation store. I intend to boot that demo up again soon. Perhaps I’ll feel less lost and overwhelmed by the combat and controls this time and get to focus more on the other aspects of the game.

Still, I have this morbid curiosity about it. There’s something here that just won’t let me go. Maybe it is that initial fantasy promise. Maybe it’s that the game is very cool looking parkour, nice sounding soundtrack and the atmosphere this title invokes. Or maybe it’s that ‘it’s so bad it’s good’ thing that my mind is projecting on this title.

Best case scenario: the game launches to middling reviews, 6 out of 10s, a 63 on Metacritic etc. and the title goes on sale/is on the 2nd hand market for 30-40,- I'll pick it up late in 2022/early 2023 to try it out further. That or a Demo that throws you in at the beginning of the game, letting the player learn about the gameplay gradually instead of dropping them in and feeling lost and overwhelmed. Perhaps both.

Octopath Traveler II 

Release date: February 24
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC

The first big release of 2023 for me is the sequel to Square Enix´ very first ´2D-HD’ title: Octopath Traveler II. I absolutely adored the first Octopath Traveller when it came out in 2018. It was a game that didn’t leave any impression on me when I saw it first in a Nintendo Direct but whose Demo I checked out regardless. Why? Because it was around this time I wanted to try out a (J)RPG that wasn’t a Pokémon or the like. With the YouTubers, I was following at the time showing interest in the title, and the Demo being free of course, I gave it a whirl about two weeks before the title would launch. 

I’m glad I did because I ended up liking that Demo a lot more than I thought I would. I picked the huntress H’aanit as my starting character and once I understood the Shield/Break mechanic I started to have lots of fun. That first boss battle was a very rewarding win. I liked H’aanit and the start of her story, the graphics looked a lot better in person as well and the music sounded really good. Once I had run through H’aanit’s chapter one I decided I would buy the full game.

That was a fun experience in and of itself. The game launched on the very last day of the school year so once all the formalities that come with that were done and over with, I popped into the city with some friends. We popped by the store to buy the game, of course, had lunch (burgers and fries) and just had a fun afternoon strolling around.

Anyway, back to the game itself. As one of the first Switch games in my library and launching right before summer break, it naturally meant that Octopath Traveller was THE title I played over the Summer. And what a time it was. I fell in love with the title. Was it rather simple and old-fashioned? Yes, but that never bothered me. Quite the opposite in fact. I enjoyed this simplicity. Over the summer I played the game for over 100 hours. Saw the story of each traveller to its conclusion, travelled all across Orsterra and saw nearly everything the land had to offer. I had lots of fun doing so and still have fond memories of the game to this day.

I don’t have a concrete ‘best games I ever played’ list, how could I choose?, but what I do know is that Octopath Traveler is somewhere high up on that list. That’s why this sequel is so high on the priority list. A sequel to one of my favourite games ever? How could I not be excited!

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon 

Release date: March 17
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch

Another year, another Bayonetta title on this list. Ironically enough, I haven’t even bought Bayonetta 3. The further along in the year I got, the more my priorities changed and the busier I got. By the time Bayonetta 3 rolled around, I just didn’t feel like picking it up. I didn’t feel like dropping 60,- for a game that closes to Pokémon Violet and God of War Ragnarök while I was still not done with Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The whole drama surrounding the voice actress change, the middling reviews it got and the fact that I was never that big of a Bayonetta fan in the first place all contributed to this decision.

Even so, this unexpected spin-off title intrigues me and the presentation is the prime reason for it. This title goes full fairytale, darkness included, with a storybook presentation and a whimsical yet unsettling soundtrack. It’s a bit Indie in that way. Don’t have much more to say really. Its presentation is what has piqued my interest and if this game turns out to be any good, I plan on picking it up. Who knows, it might also lead me into buying Bayonetta 3 for more Bayonetta goodness.

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores 

Release date: April 19
Platform(s): PlayStation 5

Horizon ForbiddenWest is my Game of the Year for 2022 so naturally, that means I’m excited for its expansion, the Burning Shores. Even before its announcement at the Game Awards, I was eagerly awaiting any news about it. It was the expectation Forbidden West would get DLC as Zero Dawn got some and the developers had put in plenty of hints.

The reveal trailer didn’t tell us much. It was very much a tease but what was teased looks promising. The volcanic archipelago look of what was once Hollywood isn’t quite what I expected, and I am iffy about how you´ll traverse it, but I´m willing to give it a shot. We´ve only seen a GCI teaser after all, not actual gameplay. Plus: they did promise us we will finally fight a Metal Devil aka Horus Titan. That alone is exciting.

Speaking of which: Burning Shores will only come to the PS5 so anyone who bought the PS4 version of Horizon Forbidden West is out of luck if they don’t have a PSS5 to upgrade to. Guerilla themselves have stated this decision was made due to their ‘ambitious creative decision’. I think that’s not the full story. It seems more likely to me that Sony is finally cutting its PS4  support and Guerilla, now that they don’t need to take this nearly 10-year-old console, the studio cut loose. Regardless of how this decision came about I do believe Burning West will leverage the PS5 to give us stuff that couldn’t happen on the PS4.

Take the promised Horus fight. In Horizon Zero Dawn, the Metal Devil's 3D model is 292 meters long, 143 meters wide, and 91 meters high, including its tentacles. It uses 6.6 million triangles and is comprised of 596 unique components. I can believe that if you put that in motion in the game world as a big boss, you need more than what the PS4 can handle.

To close this out, If Burning Shores has the same quality as The Frozen Wild compared to HorizonZero Dawn, then I´ll be satisfied and I’m very much looking forward to it.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom 

Release date: May 12
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch

When Nintendo announced that the ‘sequel to the Breath of the wild was now in development’ at the 2019 Game Awards we all expected this sequel to not take that long to arrive. It started life as ideas for The Breath of the Wild expansion pass that didn’t fit. So, a new game was born. With the title using the same engine and graphics and building on the world of Breath of the Wild and comparisons to Majora’s Mask, it was the expectation the game wouldn’t have the same lengthy, delayed-filled development cycle as Breath of the Wild.

Yeah. That didn’t happen. That announcement was 4 years ago and only now is the game actually launching. I think the Covid-19 pandemic has something to do with this. This long wait could come back to haunt it. Lots of people equate a longer development with bigger and better and that’s not necessarily the case. The game doesn’t even have to be ‘Breath of the Wild again’. I’d even prefer it if it goes back to a more story-heavy, not as open, design. That way, both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom can stand on their own without one making the other redundant.

Though I, of course, do hope the developers grow the Breath of the Wild formula. A good example is crafting. Breath of the Wild had the formula for some genuine crafting, not cooking, but actually making weapons and arrows ready but didn’t do anything with it. That’s something Tears of the Kingdom really needs to implement if you ask me. The weapon durability won’t be as bad if you could fix them/use gather resources to craft them at smithies. 

As of me writing this, we know precious little about what the game is really about. Just the name, that we’ll return to the sky ala Skyward Sword, Link’s weird arm and other quick glimpses of stuff. Still, it’s the sequel to a very beloved and well-received game and, quite possibly, Nintendo’s last big hitter on the Switch. I have no doubt that however, it will turn out, it’ll be good.

Spider-Man 2

Release date: TBC
Platform(s): PlayStation 5

Like many, 2021/2022 have burned me out on superheroes. DC has never been that good in the movie department and Marvel’s phase 4 output has been ‘meh’. In the comics department, I’ve basically stopped reading together. I’ve read a comic here or there but I just don’t have the time for it anymore to really dig into the comic space, even if I wanted to. 

Still, I very much enjoyed Marvel´s Spider-Man and especially Spider-Man: Miles Morales and pappa need more actual PS5 titles on his shelves. Again, we don’t know much, but it does look good and I’m all for another adventure in Insomniac’s corner of the Spider-Verse. I liked the story of both games, the characterization of the characters and the New York City Insomniac build and, you know, the gameplay was fun. Swinging through New York was exciting and it will be interesting to see what Insomniac can do with the PS5 hardware. Miles-Morales was already on the console, but that also was a smaller title that also needed to run on PS4.

Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters

Release date: TBC
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4

The 2nd to last entry is somewhat of a cheat. Technically speaking, the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters have been out for years. However, they’re finally coming to consoles as many have wanted in 2023. Square Enix revealed physical editions only a few weeks ago. I’m not getting those. One: they’re sold out and two: I want to use this opportunity to give only one Final Fantasy a whirl. Even though I fancy myself a (J)RPG guy, I’ve never played a Final Fantasy before. And to be quite frank: they’re modern, 3D outings, don’t tickle my fancy. Only Final Fantasy 7: Remake looks good to me so I’m sticking with the 2D classics for the moment.

Don’t know which one to get as of now. It all depends on how Square will release these I guess. If they drop them all at once I can choose whichever I want. If not, I might just give FF1 a go or the one that releases at a moment that’s convenient for me. When I got an open spot on the calendar to play one. I’m not picky though I do plan to binge SomecallmeJohnny’s Final Fantasy reviews to get a better understanding of them before I make a decision.

The Plucky Squire 

Release date: TBC
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

Last on the list is the only Indie title on the list. The Plucky Squire. I’m not that into the Indie scene, it’s not really on my radar when I still have so many ‘mainstream’ games to check out. The Plucky Squire is on my radar though because it looks interesting. It’s about three storybook characters who “discover a three-dimensional world outside the pages of their book. They must jump between 2D & 3D realms to save their friends in this charming action-adventure”.  

The characters will jump outside their pages of the book and continue their adventures in the room the book is laying in. From the desk to the little print that is on the coffee cup. That looks like a fun and unique experience. Bonus: former Pokémon designer James Turner is one of the developers. His artwork and designs are good.