We look forward to even bigger games in 2024
Publication date – 10:43 PM, Sunday – 24 December 23
2023 stands out as the best year for video games in modern history, offering gamers a wide range of great games across genres, providing plenty of reasons to celebrate. However, despite the accolades and successes these games may achieve, their makers may not reap the benefits. This year has seen more than 7,000 jobs lost in the gaming sector, a number that is expected to rise as studios and developers face financial constraints.
The irony of financial uncertainty amid a booming year in game sales was poignantly highlighted by CEO Larian Studios, creators of the acclaimed “Baldur’s Gate 3,” expressing his helplessness as he noted that almost no one remained from the original team meetings. It is essential to develop sustainable practices in game development, ensuring financial stability and environmental responsibility.
It is equally important to protect decentralized paths to game creation to maintain a diverse and multi-faceted industry. Now, to celebrate some of the best games we’ve ever had the pleasure of playing.
1. Category 1: Best overall gaming experience
“Baldur’s Gate 3” seals this award. In a year where new experiences have been few and far between, BG3’s strength lies in its ability to deliver not only a playable D&D experience and a wonderfully enhanced RPG but also for millions to experience the magic of what was previously limited to a very few. As a game, “BG3” offers a wide range of characters, classes, enemies, and challenges. You must play. Honorable Mention: Hogwarts Legacy
2. Second category: The craziest games
This is a really tough category to determine a winner in. How does one choose between the toxic groups of dueling Spidermen in “Spiderman 2” and the awesome crafting abilities of “Tears of the Kingdom”? The number of hours spent on both games was too many to count. One was best for playing on the weekend and the other while on the road. However, Tears of the Kingdom is slightly outdone by what the game’s makers can achieve on the old Tegra X1 and Switch. Play both if you can, you won’t be disappointed.
3. Third category: A game in which we lose our hearts while not saving the world
There are three great indie games on the list here: Tchia, Venba, and Thirsty Suitors. Each is amazingly colorful, full of radical possibility, and offers us moments to cherish emotionally and nostalgically. “Chea” and its magical archipelago, “Finpa” and its delightful islands, “putu” or biryani rockets, “Thirsty Suitors” with its gala, basketball and skiing. All three matches are winners in their own right. But yes, “Venba” wins because of its poignant story about the fear of standing out and its delicious music.
4. Category 4: The one where I dropped my controller admiring the beauty on screen
There are two games from Ubisoft that are suitable for this – “Crew Motrofest” and “Avatar: The Frontiers of Pandora”. I have a hard time choosing between the paradise that is Hawaii and the night skies of Pandora – one is paradise on earth and the other is ethereal and otherworldly. One divides the island map into race tracks and scenic “Forza”-like sequences with its own twist, while the other tells us not just a story of freedom, but one that celebrates Na’vi culture. However, “The Crew” should win due to longer replayability and a great selection of cars.
Hopefully there will be great matches in 2024 but hopefully you will be in more cheerful spirits.
