The Best Anime of 2023 - This Year in Video Games

2023 is finally in its casket. Many would quickly call 2023 one of the best years of gaming in a while, owing to the slew of phenomenal titles released this year. This, however, ignores the almost 7,000 employees laid off from various gaming studios across the nation this year alone. It also ignores many celebrated luminaries in the industry getting laid off, like Mary Kirby, who was responsible for penning the beloved Varric in the Dragon Age series. Don't forget the abuses and harassment in the industry from major companies like Bethesda and the mistreatment of employees like Leona Faren, who claims she was harassed out of Bethesda after coming out as trans. There is also the disastrous acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, in flagrant abuse of anti-trust laws that the software giant is all too comfortable with (and they still have their eyes set on Nintendo). Last but not least, the so-called mouthpieces of the gaming industry, like the The Game Awards, are more concerned with preening and self-aggrandization than actually speaking out in the name of game developers.

If there's one thing we can celebrate, it's that more people who play games are recognizing these atrocities for what they are; the people who ask, "Can't we just enjoy games?" are becoming fewer and fewer while more people come to demand better treatment of the people making their games while sneering at CEOs. More and more studios are unionizing, including SEGA's AEGIS, currently one of the largest unions in the industry (despite SEGA's sabotaging). Despite the year's major releases, fans are still rallying around the smaller titles in the industry, such as the .hack fandom a remake of the PS2 .hack titles or the criticism of Nexon's Dave the Diver being labeled an “indie game”. Fans were also able to shame gaming giant Epic into paying Hato Moa, creator of the beloved visual novel Hatoful Boyfriend, a sizeable amount of royalties that they hadn't paid her for a few years.

Of course, I can't forget the games. CAPCOM's Resident Evil 4 remake pulled off the careful balance of a more realistic and grounded Resident Evil game with the original's cheesy one-liners and himbo protagonist. (Fittingly, the Dead Space remake was also phenomenal, continuing the link between these two classic third-person survival horror titles.) CAPCOM also laughed all the way to the bank as the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection sold gangbusters worldwide, showing there is still plenty of love for the Blue Bomber's digital outings. Final Fantasy XVI's developers listened to reason and added POC characters to its story while delivering a rollicking blockbuster with a bevy of sensitive, emotional moments, even if they have to fight uphill as the U.S. gaming industry continues to sneer at "JRPGs." The HD-2D movement continues with much aplomb as Square Enix's Octopath Traveller II won the hearts of fans worldwide, whetting the appetite of fans for the much-anticipated HD-2D Dragon Quest III remake due next year. FromSoft returned to its science-fiction roots with Armored Core VI—and both long-time Ravens and Dark Souls hangers-on welcomed it with open arms. Street Fighter 6 has done well in fixing the errors of its predecessor, and fans have been excited to wreck the faces of its gracefully aging cast members and its many newcomers, such as the delightfully toxic A.K.I.

It was the year of the remakes; Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space were not alone in reinventing themselves for a new audience. Nintendo surprised the world with absolutely stellar remakes: Metroid Prime: Remastered, Kirby: Return to Dreamland Deluxe, and Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp were all welcome surprises, but nothing could compete with the beloved SNES classic, Super Mario RPG. Not only has the game aged gracefully, but Nintendo gave it a ton of TLC with the new mechanics and even the option of a newly arranged soundtrack equal to Yoko Shimomura's original. Square Enix breathed new life into Star Ocean with the release of Star Ocean: The Second Story R—a gorgeous HD-2D title that introduces a new generation of fans to Tri-Ace's esteemed science-fiction series. Like A Dragon: Ishin! brings Kiryu Kazuma's Chanbara adventure to a new generation, with plenty of new additions (like a cameo from Nyatasha Nyanners).

It is always a big year for Nintendo and their beloved Jumpman, Mario. While his cinematic venture was fairly mediocre (despite its box office revenue), Nintendo kept Mario in everyone's faces. The Super Mario RPG remake was one thing; the stellar Super Mario Wonder reminded the world of how it feels to play a good platformer, the value of inspired art styles over raw graphics, the value of senior design staff, and the power of giving a game enough time to gestate properly. The announcements of the upcoming Princess Peach: Showtime! and the wholly-undeserved Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake also are doing to stoke the fandoms… albeit for entirely different reasons. It wasn't all smiles and laughs in the Mushroom Kingdom, sadly, as 2023 also was the year that Charles Martinet hung up his cap as the voice of Mario, ending an illustrious 30-odd-year-long career that all started with a few trade show appearances. Inheriting his place is Kevin Afghani, who I hope has an equally long and illustrious career voicing everyone's favorite plumber.

2023 was also the year of the little guy, of the dark horse victory. I have to give Baldur's Gate 3 and its patient incubation before its time in the sun. But other, smaller games have also earned their spotlight. I've already mentioned Star Ocean's new lease on life, but attention should also be given to the news of Nintendo's upcoming Another Code remakes, reuniting fans with Ashley Robbins after 19 years. Suika Game went from Vtuber curiosity to fan-favorite, all through the power of smiling fruit. And, of course, I can't forget about Success, bringing everyone's favorite unemployed ninja Izuna back out of retirement after sixteen years. And it's not just the games: the push for unionization, the successes of AEGIS, and the galvanized solidarity of those who enjoy games and those who make them give us hope that for all the harm done in 2023, we can make 2024 a better year. There is hope—and that is plenty. Institutions dubbed "too big to fail" have been toppled before, either from mobilization or hubris. And, in the end, passion and solidarity will always win out over greed.

We got this. We've got our friends and new friends to look forward to.