Most of the site’s moderator team has been here a decade or more at this point. For the third year, we came together to make a Top 10 list using some cold, hard math. After I (@marino) tabulated the secret ballots, I discovered that out of the eleven team members who participated, we had ten different #1 picks!
I’m still going to share our joint list and some of the data surrounding it. But, since we were so split on our choices, rather than a having a couple of us talk about each entry on the Top 10, we’ve elected to just say something about our own favorite game regardless of if it made the list or not.
So, let’s get to it!
As you can see, we were all over the place.
- A total of 71 games were nominated.
- Only 1 game got multiple first place votes.
- 2 games got ONLY a first place vote.
- Only 1 game got more than half of us to vote for it.
- The lowest games with multiple votes were Little Kitty, Big City and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom with 9 points.
- chaser324 got 6 games in our Top 10. He also had the most in 2023 and 2021.
- chaser324 is also the only person to get their Top 3 on the list.
And, now, here’s what each of team members decided they’d like to highlight this year.
In a year packed with new JRPG experiences, somehow it’s the most familiar one that still made the biggest splash with me.
Persona 3 has long been the best core storyline in the franchise, so pairing that with great new visuals, a solid new voice cast, and a host of other additions and quality of life improvements, is more than enough for this to immediately become an all-time favorite. While I certainly won’t dismiss people arguing that they still prefer elements of prior releases, for myself and probably most people, this is now the definitive P3 experience. Atlus even went as far as including the game’s epilogue with the Episode Aigis (FKA The Answer) DLC, and while I think many of the complaints about it are very valid, the last few hours make for a satisfying final send-off for the SEES team.
I know it’s easy to be jaded about the prevalence of remasters and remakes these days, but when they’re done with this level of effort and reverence for a much beloved game, it’s hard for me to really deny the allure.
Oh, look, a live-service third-person shooter. Joy. Not enough of those in my life.
On paper, ain’t nothing about Helldivers II that should be fun. The game actively tries to keep killing you. It wants you to respawn again and again. It wants your teammates to murder you accidentally.
It wants you to play online with strangers or friends. It wants you to keep pushing for harder difficulties to unlock more weapons and gear. It wants to hurt you. It wants your tears. It needs your suffering.
And yet I enjoy it so much. I get so much joy trying to keep my friends on track during a twenty-minute mission only to drop a bombing run right on top of them as they race for the escape shuttle.
That push and pull is the core of Helldivers II. To get more resources to get better guns you need to play on harder missions. Those missions feature tougher enemies you’ve never seen before. You get frustrated and tired of always being wiped out. At some point, you find the right balance again, get your resources, kill some enemies of democracy, and keep pushing forward—frustration with victory. Fear with fun.
Helldivers II doesn’t need to be everything for everyone. It just wants to be itself. And if you don’t like it then you are clearly an enemy of democracy and Super Earth.
The Civilization series remains king of the TBS court for a reason: it fucking whips. To say I was obsessive about Civ this year would be trying to save face. I turned full-on Gollum for Firaxis‘s historical epic. The latest attaché to the series must be psychic: It knows the second I want to see a technology calcify or a World Wonder have its ribbon cut. While we spend a lot of time in games eagerly trekking to the next frontier, Civilization VI proves the power of having systems that stand up to countless revisits, both during matches and between them. This is an official invitation for Sid Meier to come live in my apartment.
Every once in a while, a game comes out that feels like it was designed solely for you. For me, Astro Bot is that. It’s a game where I had a dumbass smile on my face for hours. Astro Bot Rescue Mission was the best VR game I’ve ever played and Astro’s Playroom was my #2 in 2020. After playing those, the dream was a full-fledged Astro platforming adventure. And Team Asobi crushed it.
Obviously, the game is overflowing with PlayStation nostalgia including some ridiculously deep cuts like the chef from Ore no Ryouri or f’n Mr. Mosquito. This would’ve probably been enough to carry a mediocre game, but the nostalgia here is just the icing on the cake. And that cake is an incredible platformer that feels great and introduces new elements every 15 minutes. What’s different, though, is that they’re not teaching you an ever-growing list of skills to utilize deep into the game. Instead, each level has its own unique elements that are immediately thrown out the window when the level ends. It keeps the game fresh and exciting the whole way through. It’s wild that they had the restraint to only use some of these gimmicks once. I’m looking at you, Downsize Surprise.
Another thing that surprised me is how much I enjoyed the challenge levels. I’m at a point in my life where I’m often setting games to easy and just enjoying the ride. I’m not here for the challenge. Not true for Astro Bot. While there were a couple that put the frustration meter into the red (I see you, Splashing Sprint), I thoroughly enjoyed figuring these out. The platforming is that fun. After I platinum’d it, I immediately played through it on a second save file collecting all 305 bots all over again.
As one of the olds on this site, Indiana Jones has always had a special place in my heart from growing up with the narrow escapes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the not-particularly-culturally-sensitive terrors of Temple of Doom, and the paternal hi-jinks of The Last Crusade. I was equally enamoured with the first two Indy adventure games, The Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure and The Fate of Atlantis. Since then, Fedora the Explorer hasn’t really been shone in the best light, with most of the licensed output since hovering around a “so-so” tier (the Young Indy show, the fourth movie, those OK Tomb Raider clones). The Great Circle taps into what made that original trilogy great, however, with a combination of knowing slapstick and a more scholarly approach to the archaeology puzzles that tend to follow games in this mold: situations where Indy gets to show off his polyglottery as often as his pugilism. However, what really sold me on the game was that special MachineGames touch, tempered from years with Wolfenstein, best exemplified by an ambient guard noise subtitle I noticed that simply said “(Fascistic Whistling)”. MachineGames has a proven track record for bashing fashies, either figuratively or literally with a shovel, and with how certain presidential elections panned out in November it’s as cathartic as anything else to highlight the buffoonery of these right-wing goobers, getting one or several over the Nazis and/or the Partito Nazionale Fascista as they trample over the little guy wherever they go. Some great performances, exceptional level design, a strong open-world component between the more Uncharted-like linear action sequences, and a faithful replication of the adventuresome spirit of the franchise’s roots made The Great Circle an unexpectedly pleasant surprise here towards the tail end of the year. It’s pretty darn weird to feel hopeful for the future of the Indiana Jones franchise again but that’s the shocking situation we’re in now.
Zenless Zone Zero has managed to do the one thing a FTP game has never managed to do till now for me. Keep my interest in it all year. This is thanks to a fun combat system that feels good to pull off moves in a stylish way. The boss fights are always the highlight since you really get to pull off all the stops to win. Along with a loveable cast of characters that get to show off their personalities in a fun and dramatic over the top story. Aided by some very pretty art and very over animated cutscenes it just keeps me coming back for more. Also helps that the gacha nature of it has never hindered me in anyway. Which makes this a fun game I get to keep having new storylines to play through every month. Easily making it my game of the year.
Party House, one of the standout titles in UFO 50, is a brilliantly designed game that tickles all the right parts of my brain. UFO 50 kicks off with Barbuta, a brutal, uncompromising platformer that feels like diving into an ice bath. Night Manor is the best point-and-click horror game I’ve ever played. Rail Heist is one of the most creative takes on the always thrilling topic of train robbery. Part of the magic of UFO 50 is uncovering its surprises, so I will stop there.
When asked to name my favourite game in the collection, I often default to discussing its meta-narrative. UFO 50 is framed around the fictional LX console, and you can trace the developers’ journeys across games through their credits (or notice when they disappear). As someone who follows the craft of game creation for work and pleasure, UFO 50 hits a chord. This is all helped by the fact that it is also just extremely fun to play. Now excuse me, there’s a new episode of the Eggplant show – the podcast dissecting each of the 50 games week by week. Play Forever!
Balatro was my second favourite game this year – a brilliantly designed game that tickles all the right parts of my brain.
This game. I like tactic games like this well enough, but this game is distilled down to perfection for me. The setting is interesting, the characters are wonderful, the story is engaging, and the gameplay just hits for me. Jen and Dessa teamed up at the end for me and I am happy with the way their stories played out.
ThatPinguino: I’m so glad Balatro won the Moderator Game of the Year! It’s not only the best game to come out this year, it’s also a game that speaks to me as a card pervert!
ZombiePie: Yeah, Pinguino. Balatro is definitely a highlight for me this year. It is endlessly replayable and the walking definition of being more than the sum of its parts. But, uh… hey, Pinguino. Are you playing Balatro right now as we talk about why it’s our Game of the Year?
TP: Yeah! Of course I am! This game speaks to me! And it also speaks to me! The little joker man tells me to get more chips. He craves chips.
ZP: Pinguino… I feel like for the past three days now I keep catching you opening up packs of Jokers, completing new challenges, and screaming in agony when you fail to get every stake or chip for every deck in the game. Are you okay?
TP: I’m not okay! I keep giving the Joker what he wants, but he always wants more. It’s never enough. Why isn’t it enough? Why am I not enough? Maybe if I play one more round… I’ll be enough?
ZP: Pinguino, how long have you been trying to get the orange chip for the Black Deck?
TP: As long as it takes, ZP. As long as it takes. What a game. What a year. What a game of the year. Help.
ZP: Well, everyone, remember to play Balatro responsibly!