Game On: 2023 looks to be a stacked year for video games

The Game Awards took place on Dec. 8. It was about what you’d expect – various musical performances and appearances from celebrities who hold no relevance to video games, smarmy suits, meandering speeches and of course, this year’s story-driven third-person action-adventure led the way with 11 nominations and six awards.

More important than the awards themselves, the Game Awards seems to have largely replaced the once-titanic Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) as the best time and place to premiere upcoming video games. As if 2023 didn’t look good enough already with the likes of Hogwarts Legacy, Redfall and Darkest Dungeon II – just to name a few – over a dozen more hype-worthy games were announced that night.

After a decadelong hiatus, FromSoftware is finally returning to their storied mecha series with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. Interestingly, the recently revived Crash Bandicoot series is getting a new game in the form of a 4v4 squad-based multiplayer game entitled Crash Team Rumble. It reminds me of 2002’s Rayman Arena, which was unfortunately a commercial flop that overestimated its mascot’s ability to push sales across multiple genres. I like Crash a lot, but I’m worried it’ll end the same way.

Excitingly, Ghost Story Games unveiled their brand-new IP, Judas. The studio is led by Ken Levine, the primary visionary behind BioShock and its sequel, BioShock Infinite. Details are scant, but Judas’ reveal trailer did give off “BioShock but in space” vibes. Given that franchise has already featured stories in an underwater city and a city in the sky, it’s the next logical step.

Plenty of big expansions were announced too. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty was finally shown in more detail – it’s the only planned DLC for the game, will skip the last-gen Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and features new character Solomon Reed, who is played by screen actor Idris Elba. Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores was announced, which will be set in an apocalyptic Los Angeles and release April 19.

The indie hit Dead Cells is getting a Castlevania crossover DLC in Q1 2023. It’s rather ironic given Dead Cells wouldn’t exist without Castlevania, but I’m glad to see Konami finally exploring their legendary IP again – Castlevania hasn’t seen a game release since 2014, but the Netflix series that aired episodes between 2017-21 was well-received and indeed, one of my favorite shows of all time.

A slew of release dates were also confirmed. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was confirmed to release March 17, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League on May 26, Street Fighter 6 on June 2, Diablo 4 on June 6 following a public beta, Final Fantasy 16 on June 22 and at long last, Baldur’s Gate 3 was given a release window of August.

BG3 has been in early access for two years, meaning those who plunk down the cash are able to play bits and pieces of it while Larian Studios gradually adds more and more to the game. I’ve never been overly fond of this approach, as the developer is essentially charging people to beta test their game, but to each their own. Player reviews have been stellar thus far, and as someone who grew up with the series, I’m eager to get my hands on the full release.

And while it won’t come until 2024, Extremely OK Games lifted the veil on Earthblade. Crafted by the same minds who created Celeste, my favorite game of 2018, it looks to follow a similar formula: side-scrolling gameplay, vibrant pixel art, smooth controls and a whimsical story. This time there will be combat added to the mix, which is sure to be a treat. I can hardly wait.

There’s a good chance several of the newly announced games won’t be released until 2024, but many of these aforementioned titles have been in the works for years and were already unveiled many months ago. And historically, once a video game is given a specific release day, it’s rare for them to be delayed more than a month or two – there’s no doubt in my mind that gamers will be getting their hands on plenty of excellent games in 2023.

Riordan Zentler can be reached at riordanzentler@gmail.com.