Highlights
- Alan Wake 2 made a significant impact in a short amount of time, slipping into the running for Game of the Year despite being less than three weeks out.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are highly popular and well-received games, with Baldur’s Gate 3 being one of the highest-rated games of 2023 on Metacritic.
- Based on its unique characters, beautiful art design, engaging combat, and weighty consequences for decisions, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the most likely game to win Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023.
With The Game Awards 2023 fast approaching, many gaming fans are surely speculating about which game will take home the coveted Game of the Year title. Historically, the award has gone to games that have had the strongest critical reception and made the most significant impact on the industry. Ahead of The Game Awards ceremony this December, it’s worth looking back at some of the biggest and boldest games of the year, and predicting which one might be crowned Game of the Year.
2023 has been an impressive year for gaming. Hits like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 made massive waves by appealing to broad audiences across a number of different platforms, while highly-anticipated console exclusives like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 managed to live up to the lofty expectations many fans had for them in the leadup to their launch. The nominees for TGA 2023 have been officially announced, leaving many to wonder which of the six Game of the Year contenders, all of which have received copious amounts of praise from all corners of the industry, will walk away as the victor.
2023 Game of the Year Nominees
- Alan Wake 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Alan Wake 2
Following the cult classic 2010 game, Alan Wake 2 once again delivers Remedy Entertainment’s signature blend of uncanny, bizarre, and inventive video game presentation. Released just a few weeks before the announcement of the GOTY nominees, Alan Wake 2 barely made the eligibility cutoff. Despite the game being less than three weeks old, it managed to slip into the running for Game of the Year, which proves how great of an impact it has had in such a short amount of time. Fans are already excited about the idea of a third Alan Wake game, as Alan Wake 2 establishes itself as yet another impressive and unique game from Remedy.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Although it spent almost three years in early access and RPG fans built a considerable amount of hype around it, the greater gaming community didn’t seem to pay too much attention to Baldur’s Gate 3 ahead of its full launch in August, at least not when compared to some of 2023’s other highly anticipated games. In spite of this, Baldur’s Gate 3 is easily one of the most popular and well-received games of the year, tied with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for the highest-rated 2023 game on Metacritic. BG3‘s heavy focus on decision-making, class-building, and high-quality narrative design has made it a favorite among many gamers this year.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
While many expected great things from the Breath of the Wild sequel, Tears of the Kingdom somehow leaps over the high bar set by its predecessor. The game retains most of what makes BOTW so beloved while introducing new and valuable content that gels with the series’ design pillars of exploration, discovery, and creativity. Thanks to its stellar critical reception and high standard of quality, TOTK has become one of the Switch’s best-selling games of all time, and its favored status among players makes it a solid choice for 2023’s Game of the Year.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man quickly became one of the PlayStation 4’s best-selling games due to its satisfying movement and combat, but also its narrative, which helped endear audiences to a brand-new version of Peter Parker—a difficult task in the age of perennial superhero content. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 takes the strengths of the 2018 game, along with the 2020 half-sequel featuring Miles Morales, and polishes them to a brilliant shine. Although the game hasn’t been free from some minor controversies, such as the complaints about Miles Morales’s new canon suit, most players agree that Spider-Man 2 is at least as good as the two games that came before it, if not better.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
Resident Evil 4 is often cited as one of the greatest survival horror games of all time, so Capcom certainly had a lot riding on its remake. However, just like the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 before it, Resident Evil 4 (2023) sticks the landing, delivering an experience that is decidedly modern while still in line with the tone and identity of the original 2005 game. Impressive visuals, fleshed-out characters, and responsive combat have helped Resident Evil 4 land other nominations at The Game Awards 2023, further proving how well it has landed with both fans and critics.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Launching alongside Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on October 20, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has enjoyed almost universal praise from both series veterans and newcomers. It’s not all due to the prestige of the Mario franchise, either, as it’s clear that Wonder takes major steps to improve and build upon the basics of 2D Super Mario platformers, introducing new, creative, and exciting features that enhance the strengths of the franchise and genre. For Mario fans, especially those with a fondness for the 2D games, it doesn’t get much better than Super Mario Wonder.
Final Prediction
With so many high-quality games nominated, the choice for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023 will likely be a contentious one. That said, one 2023 release seems the most likely to win: Baldur’s Gate 3. BG3 is filled with unique characters, beautiful art design, engaging and strategic combat, and weighty consequences for decisions, all while never compromising its creative vision or ambitious scale. It’s a game that defies all expectations, stands out from just about every other popular game, and may very well be looked back on as one of the best RPGs of all time.
While the other GOTY contenders are either new entries in massively popular franchises or slot nicely into mainstream gaming conventions, Baldur’s Gate 3 managed to become massively successful as a turn-based CRPG in a dormant, relatively niche franchise, which is considerably rare in the modern gaming industry.
