Game of the Year Awards 2023

"The sequel delves even deeper into the philosophical side, and with the same writing team, the narrative is a genuine progression of the original’s intellectual themes. The discussions tackle profound questions, such as the role of sentience in the cosmos, the coexistence of civilizations with the natural world, and the pursuit of knowledge. Remarkably, the game navigates these subjects without being pretentious, offering an unbiased view of multiple perspectives." - Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Baldur's Gate 3, Final Fantasy XVI, Hi-Fi Rush

"Regardless of what you're doing, you are likely to be smitten by the game's excellent presentation. Aside from the strong sound design and audio effects, the visuals are simply sublime. The cel-shaded, cartoon-like style is amazingly well executed, and perfectly matches the game's story and characters. The cutscenes are fantastic and the transition to in-game visuals is almost unnoticeable." - Alex V

Runners-up: Super Mario Bros Wonder, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Street Fighter 6

"One mission that sees the group visit Coney Island amusement park at night is a standout, from character development, atmosphere, and technical visual perspectives. The Coney Island story mission is a great showcase of the immersive visuals possible. All of the cutscenes are of course rendered using high quality assets, excellent animations and good facial capture. The city is bigger and still just as detailed, with some great vistas and atmospheric moments. Animation and level of detail remain strong." - Alex V

Runners-up: Forza Motorsport, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, The Talos Principle 2

"The Wonder Flower effects liven up the experience significantly. To me, they are the highlight of the title. Moments like being chased by a ghost version of yourself or having to collect coins to the rhythm of music, mash the excellent platforming of the series up with something fresh. Great animations breathe new life into the characters, and the Flower Kingdom is rife with fascinating designs." - Eric Hall

Runners-up: Hi-Fi Rush, Final Fantasy XVI, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

"It's clear that Avalanche Software put a ton of work into making Hogwarts as magical as it seems. The sprawling campus is filled with details that fans of the series are sure to eat up. There's a ton of ground to cover on campus, and almost always something interesting to stumble across. It's the closest experience to enrolling in the titular school you can get outside of going to Universal Studios." - Eric Hall

Runners-up: Ready or Not, Alan Wake 2, Amnesia: The Bunker

"Mind invasions aside, this fantasy land has a typical assortment of problems that players will encounter and be invited, or forced, to participate in. The various quests and narratives are by far one of the game's strongest points, with hundreds of hours of dialogue mostly excellently written and voice acted. And even further to that, the game uses a narrator voiceover to describe scenes, characters, and situations, which adds an unexpectedly great angle to the storytelling." - Alex V

Runners-up: Hi-Fi Rush, Hogwarts Legacy, The Talos Principle 2

"Shadowheart’s background is a mystery full of many intriguing layers. Initially she is reserved and defensive of a strange device that offers protection for the group. The player can help to bring secrets to the fore by completing her personal quests, and aid in choosing her future, which may be contrary to her initial beliefs. How she then handles uncovering the truth helps to make Shadowheart an amazing character that is difficult to forget." - Ben Thomas

Runners-up: Peppermint (Hi-Fi Rush), Harry (Marvel's Spider-Man 2), Garl (Sea of Stars)