MERCH!
Giant Bomb - a website about video games and the people that make them

Ranked, Pre-2023 Games Played in 2023

by ginormous76

Games I played for the first time in 2023 (Dec 2022 - Nov 2023) that came out before 2023.

Showing 1-10 of 33 items

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

1. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

Holy moly, this was terrifying. I got scared so many times. There are a few things that could have been better like make it more clear why the ghosts are some times damageable and sometimes not when visually they look the same or make fights more interesting.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

2. Yakuza: Like a Dragon

This game is really good. The story is probably the best story since Yakuza 1. The gameplay is solid. There was a big difficulty spike, even though I had done every side story and event up until that point. Some boss battles just had too much health. The platinum requires an irritating amount of grinding. Which sucks, just because I was enjoying so much of the game and to find that I basically needed to just mindlessly grind for 10s of hours to get it really hurt. I know, it's hard to complain about enjoying a game so much you want to do everything, but I really did and felt let down.

The Chant

3. The Chant

This game was fantastic. It's a horror game with some survival elements. You play as a regular person. You never feel overpowered, but you also do not feel too overwhelmed. The game kind of just throws you into the psychological horror and in a way feels like a good version of Stranger Things as a video game. This would have won 2022 GOTY if I had gotten around to it.

Lollipop Chainsaw

4. Lollipop Chainsaw

When this game first game out, I was worried it was going to be pervy. I saw someone speed running it, and it was nowhere near what I was worried about. This game was an incredibly pleasant surprise. It was fun to play, it was funny, it even had me tear up at one point (then promptly ruin it by making a pervy joke). Highly recommend.

Heavenly Bodies

5. Heavenly Bodies

I played this game co-op with my wife. We laughed so hard our sides and faces hurt. You play as astronaut in zero g trying to navigate around and do things. Some times though you just mess up and start spinning off or throw an item you need far away.

Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero

6. Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero

Lots of transformations made for a lot of navigation options and puzzles. Lots of references to prior games and characters were also fun. The ultimate edition has some good DLC included.

Gris

7. Gris

I don't know what this game was about, but I had fun. It's a very chill platformer.

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

8. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

This game was a lot of fun! I really appreciated some of the improvements over Risky's Revenge (such as the hot baths). I think having played Risky's Revenge gave me some insights into the story. Since Shantae lost her genie powers at the end of RR, she's still human. Her hair still whips really well, but now spells are consumable items. You unlock various maneuvering abilities along the way. I'm really loving this franchise.

Bright Memory: Infinite

9. Bright Memory: Infinite

Wow! My understanding is one person made this game. It's a 2 hour FPS that feels like it was made by a AAA developer. I enjoyed every minute of this. Highly recommend.

NBA 2K23

10. NBA 2K23

Having a lot of fun with this game. Feels like they made a lot of improvements from 2k21. Either that or I'm somehow just playing better. I have been playing My Eras with the classic Pistons. You get four jumping on points: 1983, 1991, early 2000's (I forgot the year) and present day. Started with 1991 and am refusing to let Jordan win another title. Might get more into this game as I get better.

of 4