Nick Coffman’s Top 10 Games of 2023
Nick shares his favorites from the year, most of which he finished…
Before I get to the games, some nods for the year.
PSYCHODYSSEY - The 32-part doc on the temaculous development of Psychonauts 2 is a rare inside baseball look into the industry. This ate up a lot of my time earlier in the year and became a challenging watch once crunch and Covid19 entered the mix.
My House WAD - Inside Doom’s Most Terrifying Mod - A late edition. I will never play this mod, but appreciated Power Pak’s playthrough/essay. Reminds me that I finally need to finish House of Leaves after all my failed attempts.
Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977 by Jordan Minor - A fun look back at some of the games that got us to where we’re at. While I don’t fully agree with each choice, and think some picks are made just to rattle some chains, this is a fun little book with some great art.
Now let’s get to the list.
10. Moonleap
I’m a sick puppy that will still occasionally jump into a few levels of Super Meat Boy. Ticking along through my thirties, I do feel my SMB skills slipping a bit. I just don’t have that speed I once had. Enter Moonleap, a 2d puzzle platformer where your little moon boy collects stars to complete levels. Every jump has you switching between day and night, with spikes appearing on different colored platforms, dependent upon which phase you are in. It’s a simple game on its surface, but the further you get into it, the more challenging it becomes. With plenty of secrets around the edges, and a calming soundtrack, Moonleap took the title of my “15 minutes to spare” game of the year.
9. Homebody
I did not see the team behind Dream Daddy following up their popular dating sim with a horror puzzle game. Homebody blends 80s slashers with the look and feel of early PlayStation era horror games. The resulting game is a fascinating character study of fading friendships and the challenges of living with OCD. The game follows Emily as she reconnects with old friends to watch a meteor shower in a rental home. Things take a turn when you discover a killer in the house hunting down you and your friends. It’s best to go into this one as unspoiled as you can. Just bring a pen and paper for some of these puzzles.
8. UGLY
Remember Braid’s fun time-control based puzzles and how it became the poster child for indie games on Xbox in 2008? Fifteen years later UGLY almost feels like a spiritual successor to Johnathon Blow’s debut title. From its art to your character’s supernatural abilities. Gone are Braid’s time-control powers and in their place are the vanity inspired mirror powers that allow your unnamed protagonist to instantly switch places with his reflection. This single ability has so much to offer players in mobility and exploration. Discovering a new way to use the mirror ability completely evolves how you think about getting around numerous times throughout the campaign. Also gone (and not missed) are the tomes and tomes of backstory Braid dumped on you between levels. UGLY instead opts to tell its heartbreaking tale through a child’s drawings spread around its world.
7. Slay the Princess
Is the image above a bit much? Probably. I hope the lady next to me on a flight to Austin wasn’t as grossed out as I was when it occurred. Slay the Princess is a psychological horror visual novel with teeth (sorry). The less you know about this game the better time you’ll have. I chatted with Abby and Tony of Black Tabby Games back in December, and I can’t help but agree with them. Slay the Princess isn’t a game you need to look at guides for or have spoiled in videos. Go play the game and experience it for yourself. Just know that “You’re here to slay the princess and don’t believe her lies.” The voice acting is also top notch!
6. Baldur’s Gate 3
I have only just scratched the service of Larian’s party-based (bear-lovin’) RPG. What hasn’t been said about Baldur’s Gate 3 at this point? Like a good chunk of the players out of the gate, I started with a Paladin. I also jumped at the chance to play as a Dragonborn, another popular choice, I’m sure. I struggled through most of the first act, getting dragged through the dirt in most big fights. This came to a head with the climatic fight between the goblin army and the Tiefling refugees. I had to get creative, and by “get creative” I mean, I had to cover everything in grease and light it on fire. I would later discover that I had blown passed a good chunk of joinable party members and didn’t have to muscle through most of act one with only Astarion and Shadowheart like I had. Any other game that would have been my breaking point. In this case, it had me plotting out my next campaign.
5. Dave the Diver
Indie game or not, Dave the Diver is a fun collection of mini-games wrapped around a satisfying game loop. Deep sea dive fishing always had me ready to uncover more of the game’s secrets. Managing the sushi bar offered a break from the sea, lasting just long enough before wanting to dive back in. What really stuck with me from Dave the Diver is the game’s focus on community and what people can complete as a collective. The goofball cast really carries a game that could have just been another Stardew Valley. Duff, an anime obsessed arms dealer, will always have my heart.
4. Backfirewall_
We’ve reached the stretch of my list that consists of games that made me cry this year. Backfirewall_ was an early 2023 surprise. It’s a first-person puzzle adventure that takes place in a smartphone. You enter the phone to push through a new UI update. What follows is a comedic romp through the different departments that make the phone work. It’s got the humor of Portal and the heart of a Pixar movie. In a year where over 6,500 video game workers were hit by layoffs, Backfirewall_ is a reflection on purpose, work, and the intersection where those two things cross. I found myself at a career crossroads in April, right around the time I played Backfirewall_, and it has stuck with me since.
3. Hi-Fi Rush
Another pleasant surprise in the early parts of 2023. Hi-Fi Rush coming out of Tango Game Works is like finding out the emo kid in school is a menace on the basketball court. Who knew they had it in them!? Everything in this game just clicks. The music hits bop after bop, the gameplay is fast and fun, and the characters have heart, but are also some of the biggest goofballs of the year. Chai is the biggest dork, but he pulls it off without coming off as an obnoxious anime protagonist. The story could be read as a simple “corporations bad” but it goes the extra mile and explores the things we give up for modern conveniences and the cost of growth.
2. Lil Gator Game
I’ve talked about this game so much in 2023, you knew it was going to be up here somewhere. Lil Gator Game is a year removed from its release date, but it was always going to make this list. It plays like Breath of the Wild but it’s so much simpler than that. As Lil Gator, you explore two separate islands and try to start a big game, all in hope of getting your older sister to put down her college homework and join in on the fun. In my interview with dev team, we spoke about the power of play. With no enemies and no fail state, Lil Gator Game is all about taking away the boundaries and letting players push their imagination to the limit. As a dad, it’s a game the pulls at my heart strings. Someone a while back messed me up with a simple, “You never know the last time you’re going to pick your kids up.” It obliterated me and made me appreciate each embrace. Lil Gator Game argues that we never know the last time we’ll get to play, so go play.
Thirsty Suitors
My first impression of Thirsty Suitors was not great. I thought the game was trying to do too much. It’s a skating game, a cooking sim, there’s quick time events, and turn-based battles. While I still think some aspects of the game are undercooked (no pun intended), it was the game’s cast and its willingness to explore their flaws that captured and held onto me. At the outset, Jala is a twenty-something returning home for the first time after a failed relationship. Her return opens many cans of worms with exes and family she tossed aside to runaway for love. Ex after ex put your skeletons on display, the game then gives players the wheel in deciding how Jala responds. You can own your mistakes or try to explain yourself. No matter how you respond, Thirsty Suitors has this magical way of healing these damaged relationships. It’s a game that says we’re all deserving of love, no matter the flaws. At the close of each in-game day, Jala joins her father on the couch to watch some TV and discuss that day’s happenings. These are sweet moments of togetherness and reflection that end with Jala falling asleep on her father’s shoulder and him piggybacking her upstairs to her bedroom. This father-daughter moment carries the game’s thesis of communication and working to understand each other better. It’s another game that tugs at my new-ish dad heart strings and it has me willing to overlook its flaws and except it for what it is, my 2023 Game of the Year.
