The best video games of 2023 according to Metacritic
People may get irrationally over-invested in video game review scores sometimes, but they can still be a good indicator of what’s worth buying, or at least what left an impression on people during the year. Metacritic is a good tool to this end, pulling together all the scores across hundreds of sites and putting out a weighted average that people can easily digest.
So it’s time to find out what the critics thought were the very best games of the year, as we list the highest-rated games on Metacritic in 2023.
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Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Nintendo
Metascore: 92
Mario’s grand return to 2D platforming was a resounding success, giving us a new visual style, lots of weird new mechanics with the Wonder Flowers, and even a new voice for Mario. It shines with the creativity that so many of the recent 2D Mario games have lacked, even throwing some truly challenging levels in there for good measure. It’s proof positive that Nintendo is still the king of the genre when it wants to be.
Cocoon
Cocoon
Bethesda
Metascore: 92
Jeppe Carlsen is best known for Limbo and Inside, and the biggest critique of Inside was that mechanically it’s too much like Limbo. Carlsen seems to have taken that critique to heart with Cocoon which is nothing like his first two games. It’s a puzzle game, sure, but the main mechanic revolves around worlds in worlds and how you interact with them by leaping between planes. Difficult to explain, and mind-bending to figure out, it’s truly the first game of its kind.
Slay the Princess
Slay the Princess
Black Tabby Games
Metascore: 92
A classic case of “the less you know, the more you’ll enjoy” with Slay the Princess. The name of the game tells you everything you need to do, but you might find it’s not as simple of a task as it first seems. All we’ll say is that this beautifully pencil-drawn game will take you to some disturbing places, and you’ll be thinking about it long after you put it down.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
Nintendo
Metascore: 92
Sure, this is a DLC, but it’s also a full RPG with an original map and story, so it counts.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is, without a doubt, my favorite game of all time, and this DLC promised to be both the fanservice and the narrative closure that the main game left hanging. It was an absolute triumph on both accounts. It took the best possible path with its characters, new and old, and gave us the perfect ending to one of the best trilogies of RPGs ever made.
Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter 6
Capcom
Metascore: 92
Arguments will rage on forever more about what is the best fighting game series, but Street Fighter made an incredibly strong case for themselves with Street Fighter 6 this year. After SF5 stumbled in more ways than one, SF6 was a return to form that was desperately needed, serving as both a brilliant stage for competitive play and onboarding newbies into the experience.
Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2
Epic Games
Metascore: 93
Waiting this long for a sequel is almost never worth it, especially in the gaming world, but Alan Wake 2 bucked the trend and managed to dramatically improve on the first game. It crafts a strange narrative that will have you tying yourself in knots trying to figure out what’s really going on as you traverse the game’s dense atmosphere.
Resident Evil 4 remake
Resident Evil 4
Capcom
Metascore: 93
Capcom has already shown with their past RE remakes that they know what they’re doing, so it was no surprise that Resident Evil 4’s remake was arguably their best yet. The argument as to what the best RE game actually is will forever rage on (check out what we think in our list of every Resident Evil game ranked), but this remake only strengthened the case that RE4 is – and always has been – the one true king.
Metroid Prime Remastered
Metroid Prime Remastered
Nintendo
Metascore: 94
Sometimes things don’t have to be complicated. Metroid Prime Remastered takes what was already an incredible game, gives it a nice polish so that it graphically keeps up with everything else on the Switch, and then is let loose for the world to enjoy. It has done what any good remaster should do and stands as the best way to play this classic game.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3
Larian Studios
Metascore: 96
If you’re surprised by either of these top two entries, then you clearly haven’t been paying much attention this year. Baldur’s Gate 3 slowly bubbled below the surface all year and took the gaming world by storm when it came out of early access in August. In the space of just a couple of weeks, it went from a game with a niche but dedicated fanbase, to the game that everyone was talking about – and still is talking about all these months later.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Nintendo
Metascore: 96
After Breath of the Wild dominated gaming discussion for so long after its release, the hype couldn’t have been bigger for its sequel. There was fear that maybe it would underdeliver or wouldn’t progress BotW’s formula enough, but all of those fears were proven unnecessary when it blew everyone away with just how much it accomplished.
It understood exactly what made BotW such a beloved success and kept all of that in place while adding sweeping new mechanics that completely transformed the experience and addressed many of the criticisms of its predecessor, turning even BotW haters into lovers of Tears of the Kingdom.
