At the end of 2022, I wrote brief reviews of all the video games I had played that year. It was a fun challenge and I found it to be good practice for organizing my disparate thoughts in a (hopefully) articulate way. Since then, I have started writing more in-depth video-game-related articles for The DePaulia, so I need the practice more than ever.

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What follows is every game that I played in 2023, listed in the order in which I completed them. Just like before, I should mention that most of these games did not actually release during 2023, it’s just that I got around to playing them this year. Please enjoy.

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Papers, Please is one of the few games I have played that could reasonably be categorized as ‘arthouse’. Heavily inspired by Soviet-era authoritarianism, it has a single-minded focus in forcing the player to inhabit the unsavory role of a morally ambiguous immigration officer. Unlike many of its arthouse peers, though, Papers, Please functions as a fun, well-designed video game in addition to being a thought-provoking work of interactive fiction. The pencil-pushing gameplay stays surprisingly engaging throughout the story, with each new piece of required paperwork adding to the chaos while also contributing to the oppressive atmosphere.

Portal 2 is a worthy successor from the ever-creative Valve Corporation. All of the new gameplay mechanics it introduces are logical continuations of the physics-based puzzles in Portal 1. This time, though, there is a more balanced mix of self-contained rooms - which feel almost like standardized test questions - and more organic puzzle-solving, in which the player must use the game’s mechanics in order to progress through an open-air environment. These latter segments are where the game is at its most grand, and where it delves into the quirky lore of Aperture Labs. As a side note, Stephen Merchant’s Wheatley is one of the greatest voice acting performances I’ve ever heard. In the end, I slightly prefer the understated original, but Portal 2 is still a phenomenal title.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps beautifully expands on the original Ori and the Blind Forest. It’s bigger in scope, more mechanically ambitious, and still maintains the perfect Metroidvania balance of free exploration and difficult platforming challenges.

Super Castlevania IV is one of the best games in the series, with incredible graphics and memorable level mechanics. The best feature, though, is its improved controls. This game manages to remove almost all of the old-school NES jank that made the first few Castlevania games so frustrating to play, making it much more enjoyable than its predecessors.

Bastion was the debut effort of famed Hades developers Supergiant Games, and in many ways it’s easy to consider it a proto-Hades. It has the same variable, risk-reward difficulty and the same immense freedom when it comes to combat customization. It took me a while to really get invested, but I found myself enjoying the story and gameplay once I began to understand it. I didn’t quite vibe with the artstyle, though; in combination with the isographic levels and zoomed-out camera, it made the action hard to read at times. Still, chances are you can get Bastion on sale for dirt cheap, and its small scale makes it easily consumable.

Quake has better level design than its spiritual predecessor DOOM, but a less memorable atmosphere and overall aesthetic.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening further proves that the Zelda series has always been on another level of quality when compared to its contemporaries. The difficulty of the puzzles increases just the right amount from dungeon to dungeon, and every time a new mechanic is introduced, its possibilities are fully explored. The Roc’s Feather, which allows Link to jump over enemies and small gaps, is one of the best items in the series, cleverly adding a faux-third-dimension to classic top-down Zelda. Even more than the tight gameplay, though, I love the world of Koholint Island. There is such a huge amount of personality crammed into the tiny Game Boy screen. Side quests feel meaningful, minor characters feel memorable, and the whole island feels like a lived-in world with its own history and mysteries. Every area of the map is distinct, with optional and mandatory content to explore. As is usually the case, this entry in the Zelda series is the best game on its respective console.

Kirby’s Dream Land can easily be beaten in one sitting, it’s one of the shortest console games I’ve ever played. Despite this, it’s well-designed considering the director’s explicit goal of making an approachable platformer for casual players. As the first game in the franchise, it introduces a lot of iconic elements, but the series doesn’t really find its footing until the next game, Kirby’s Adventure.

Fire Emblem: Engage is the first game that I published a full review for, so I’ll just summarize my thoughts here. The gameplay is super good. The story is super bad. The more casual aspects of the series, like support conversations and side content, have been greatly de-emphasized. I personally find the characters somewhat interesting (both in terms of their visual design and personality-wise), but the worldbuilding is so lacking that it’s impossible for any of them to have much depth. Fire Emblem: Engage is a fun time while it lasts, but its underdeveloped writing prevents it from carrying much impact after the credits roll.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 reminded me that there’s still joy left in the world. As a kid, the original Super Mario Galaxy was my favorite game ever for a very long time. I had always wanted to play the sequel, but couldn’t get my hands on a copy until recently. Playing Galaxy 2 for the first time gave me an immediate rush of nostalgia that lasted the whole length of my playthrough, and I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream. What makes the Galaxy games special is that they’re a compromise between an exploratory sandbox style (as in Super Mario Odyssey) and a more linear, segmented style (as in Super Mario 3D World). This compromise ends up exceeding either extreme, giving Galaxy 2 the best level design in the series. It’s constantly throwing out and iterating on new ideas, and the simplified Comet Medal system is much better than the randomness of the comets in Galaxy 1. Despite all my praise, I still think that the original game is better than its sequel. This is because Galaxy 2 drops the ball when it comes to having a cohesive aesthetic. Sure, the levels look pretty, but they lack the overarching sense of being lost in space that was inescapable in Galaxy 1. In streamlining the gameplay, some of the game feel was left behind. Still, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is some of the most pure fun I’ve ever had playing a video game, and I would happily recommend it to anyone.

Cuphead (+ DLC) deserves its sterling reputation. The shoot-‘em-up boss fights are artistically cinematic and mechanically fun, with the parry system being a simple yet effective way of spicing up gameplay. The DLC bosses especially are some of the most creative, varied combat scenarios I’ve ever played through. The most striking element of Cuphead, though, is its rubber hose artstyle. Not only was Studio MDHR able to capture the look of old-school hand-drawn animation, they were also able to replicate the zany cartoon logic that usually accompanied it. Frogs turn into slot machines, queen bees turn into airplanes, cows turn into sentient sausages, etc. You never know how a boss might transform themselves next, which adds a lot to the spectacle of the fights. The run-and-gun platforming segments are a low point, unfortunately, as they are often annoying and rarely bring any new ideas to the table, and I also thought that the overworld could have been a lot more fleshed out. Overall, though, Cuphead is anything but a disappointment. I’m very excited to see what the Moldenhauer brothers do next.

Kid Dracula, despite being a Castlevania spin-off, actually plays almost identically to the Mega Man classic series. It has some of that classic retro unfairness, but outside of that the game is a pleasant surprise that makes full use of the NES hardware. There are some impressive action set pieces and its status as a spin-off allows for settings that would usually feel very out of place in the mainline Castlevania series.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had a lot to live up to. Being a direct sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, it’s unsurprising that this was my most anticipated release of the year. Considering the comically massive scope of Tears of the Kingdom, there are many different ways to approach it as a reviewer. I choose to review it in contrast with its prequel, 2017’s Breath of the Wild. In short, I would compare the two games like this: Breath of the Wild has a somewhat weak main questline but a cohesive, curated open world. Tears of the Kingdom has a very strong main questline but a disparate, confused open world. The latter game, I believe, is much more fun for a casual fan who intends to experience the highlights and then drop the game after beating it. TotK’s dungeons are much better than BotW’s, and its main towns all have satisfying new storylines to play through. However, for someone who intends to spend hours upon hours exploring Hyrule, completing quests, and learning everything there is to learn about each game, Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor. This is partially due to the reused overworld map, sure, but a lack of new content is not really the main issue. TotK’s new mechanics and features are numerous, but they oftentimes feel as though they are sitting on top of BotW’s existing world as opposed to being fully integrated into it. There is no better example of this than the game’s story. On paper, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have stories of similar quality. The latter’s story might even be a bit better. However, the player feels the effects of Breath of the Wild’s Calamity throughout the entire game, as they explore a nature-reclaimed postapocalyptic world. Tears of the Kingdom’s story, on the other hand, does not have much bearing on the player outside of cutscenes. The return of series staple Ganondorf, which felt very momentous in trailers, is easily forgettable during the bulk of any given playthrough. There are many such example of this phenomenon, where Tears of the Kingdom might have more interesting ideas on paper, but those ideas don’t quite seem to fit in the pre-existing world that they’ve been forced into. Additionally, some of the returning BotW mechanics now feel out of place after having been made irrelevant by other, newer methods of traversal and combat. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a technical achievement and a fantastic game, of course it is, but unlike its groundbreaking predecessor, it is not greater than the sum of its many scattered parts.

Pikmin is another game that I’ve published a full review for, so I’ll keep things relatively brief. This is probably my favorite game I played this year. Alongside the original Portal, I would put it on my list of perfectly-designed games. Whereas Portal is perfect with its dry logic and sterile puzzles, Pikmin is perfect in the way that the circle of life is perfect, creating an ecosystem in which every single creature is part of a gestalt whole. Everything makes sense. The overarching 30-day time limit necessarily forces the player to carefully measure every decision they make. Pikmin helpers can be used to combat enemies, explore the world, collect necessary materials, or create new Pikmin, and the balance of these systems allows for infinite player expression. On top of the flawless gameplay, Pikmin is aesthetically unique. While not fully realized until technology improved, the artstyle combines realism and cartoons in an intriguing way, and the enemies feel simultaneously familiar and alien. Anyone with the slightest interest in game design should definitely give Pikmin a try.

Shovel Knight Showdown goes to show that developer Yacht Club Games is talented enough to succeed in any spin-off genre they set their sights on, including casual-focused platform fighters. The unlockables feel meaningful and the small-scale stories are rewarding for players who paid attention to the series’ lore. My one complaint is that beating a minigame is a mandatory part of each single-player campaign, which I find to be unnecessary and annoying.

Final Fantasy II proves that, even in its earliest stages, the Final Fantasy series was determined to experiment with each new entry. It has a reputation for its difficult and confusing new leveling system, but most remakes and remasters (including the one I played) sand off all the rough edges of the gameplay, meaning that the combat is a fairly standard experience for a casual RPG fan like me. The story, though, still stands out to a modern player. Unlike its predecessor, Final Fantasy II lets the player control a party of actual characters instead of a party of four blank slates. There is also a myriad of side characters who join and leave the party at different times, and the world map changes depending on how far the player has progressed through the linear plot. At least when comparing the Pixel Remaster versions of the games, I prefer FFII to the original.

Castlevania: Bloodlines differentiates itself from the rest of the series by taking place in the (relatively) modern setting of World War I-era Europe. The incredible graphics really sell this idea, too, with each stage having distinct architecture and enemies depending on which famous European city it’s set in. The 3D, rotating Tower of Pisa was a personal highlight. Outside of these features, Bloodlines is a polished, fun-to-control Castlevania game that plays it safe with the gameplay.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is an original one-off from Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi. His writing style is very recognizable throughout the whole game, with its signature sense of humor and taste for convoluted murder mysteries. The visual novel story was interesting and the puzzler gameplay had a well-constructed difficulty curve, but I found that the attempts to combine the two and diegetically explain the gameplay through exposition usually fell flat.

Pikmin 2, I have gleaned, is the most polarizing game in the series. Either you love it or you hate it, and I definitely don’t love it. Although it might not be a bad game in a vacuum, it’s a massive disappointment after the perfection of the original game. Pikmin 2’s biggest issue is its new cave system, in which the player enters a gauntlet with a set number of Pikmin and cannot create new ones until they complete the area. I see what they were going for with the caves. They’re combat-focused challenges that require a more forward-thinking kind of strategy when compared to the real-time overworld. However, they’re not nearly compelling enough to carry the bulk of the game’s content. They would have worked better as an optional challenge or side mode or something. In the caves, the player doesn’t need to balance their time and they don’t need to balance their Pikmin, so the gameplay feels sluggish and inconsequential. Stated frankly, the best parts of Pikmin 2 are the moments when it feels identical to Pikmin 1. Still, in an effort to end on a positive note, I will say that the graphics, upgrades, AI, and enemy variety of Pikmin 2 are all a major step forward for the franchise.

Fatal Fury 3 is a significant graphical upgrade over its predecessors, with gorgeous fighting game stages. The lineup of playable characters is quite varied, with most of them having fun movesets. The final boss is pretty lame, though, and the incredibly bad English translation, while funny at times, really distracts from the story and dialogue.

Sonic Colors, while perhaps better than the other Sonic games I’ve played, is still not very fun. The new Wisp mechanic isn’t interesting enough to distract from the mediocre boost formula gameplay. The Saturday-morning-cartoon-esque story is sometimes charming but usually annoying, with consistently un-funny dialogue. The art design and music are very good, though, and Asteroid Coaster was a standout level.

Mega Man 11, on the other hand, is a game that pulls off the Saturday-morning-cartoon vibe well, with a better story than most games in the series. It’s a perfect sequel in that it maintains the classic Mega Man style of level design while introducing major new mechanics that fundamentally change the gameplay in a natural, interesting way. The stages are graphically and thematically creative, especially Torch Man and Blast Man’s levels. My only two complaints are that most of the boss fights are lackluster, and the side content isn’t super engaging, which means that the game feels quite short.

Metroid II: Return of Samus deserves more appreciation than it gets. It exceeded my expectations while also exceeding the original Metroid in almost every way. Despite being on the original Game Boy, it is surprisingly unburdened by cryptic retro game design. The only technological limitation that I noticed was the lack of a pause-menu map, which would have greatly helped exploration of the monochromatic world. Other than that, the controls are quite tight and the upgrades are solid. The aspect of Metroid II that I admire the most, though, is the structure. It strikes a great balance between the free exploration that the series is known for and a linearity that ensures the player never gets too lost. This structure ties in perfectly with the core objective of the game, killing all of the Metroids on the planet. With the number of remaining Metroids being an everpresent UI element, the synchronicity between gameplay and story is strong.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is another impressive Game Boy game. The amount of unique enemies, gameplay mechanics, and level themes is a technical achievement on such underpowered hardware.

Papa’s Freezeria is a title that I have a lot of history with. As a kid, the original 2011 release was my first exposure to the world of Flash games, which have become a major focus of mine as someone interested in gaming history. From there, I became a diehard fan of developers Flipline Studios, playing all of their games and religiously reading their dev blog. Some of my earliest creative projects were based on Freezeria; I created a whole comic book series where the protagonist Alberto secretly fought crime as the superhero Milkshake Man. In addition to the Flash release, I also played a bit of the tablet version (Freezeria HD) when Flipline was bringing all of their restaurant simulation games to mobile. The reason that Papa’s Freezeria is on this list of games I played for the first time this year, though, is that Flipline has finally ported it to Steam under the moniker Papa’s Freezeria Deluxe. I usually don’t discuss remasters or remakes as their own separate entities, but I have a lot to say about this release and now is as good an opportunity as ever. Let’s start with the negatives: The game is too easy. The latest few Papa’s games have all toned down the time-management aspect of the series by increasing the time between customers’ arrivals. This results in long stretches of time throughout each workday where you only have one sundae to be working on, which is quite boring when compared to the frantic action of juggling multiple sundaes at once. The Special Recipes (and Closers’ orders) are all blended for the same amount of time. Not only does this further homogenize the Special Recipes and make them feel less special, it also contributes to the oppressive predictability of how each day in Freezeria Deluxe will play out. My other major critique is that the Topping Station feels a bit lifeless. In the original Flash release of Freezeria, the sundae was surrounded by all of the toppings at once, which was an immersive way to depict an ice cream shop. In the Steam release, the player must swap between different toppings through a menu, all while staring at a mostly empty background. I think this sterilization is a remnant of the series’ transition from mobile to PC, as Flipline is not making full use of the increased screen real estate that they now have access to. Moving on to the positives: Man, does it feel good to be able to play this game on a computer again. Deluxe has all the features of modern Papa’s games, from coupons to the dining room to the Food Truck side mode, etc. The core gameplay is still fun, with the tropical island setting and sweet ingredients creating a consistently charming aesthetic. Visually, Papa’s Freezeria Deluxe is the prettiest game that Flipline Studios has ever released. In addition to the graphical leap that resulted from being ported back to PC, there are a few elements where artist Tony Solary went above and beyond. Calypso Island changes drastically from season to season, fleshing out one of the Flipverse’s most beloved locations. Also, each type of shaker has a unique container. For example, the peanuts are poured out of a mini peanut barrel and the tropical charms are poured out of a mini beach bucket. I know this sounds like a small detail, but I was always genuinely excited to unlock new ingredients just because I wanted to see the creative ways in which they were packaged. Papa’s Freezeria will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s the most nostalgic game in the most nostalgic series from my favorite indie developers. Although they still need to fully get used to the platform, I hope that Flipline Studios will continue to port their games to Steam, expanding their audience and introducing more people to the infinitely imaginative world of Papa Louie.

Star Fox 64 exceeded my expectations. Despite its reputation as a classic, I didn’t expect to enjoy an on-rails sci-fi shooter as much as I did. The player has a lot of freedom to choose which levels they want to complete before reaching the final boss. This branching progression system greatly increases replayability and keeps things consistently fresh when it comes to gameplay, objectives, and level themes. Although it’s often annoying to have to protect your fellow Star Fox pilots, their constant presence really increases the game’s immersion and their (admittedly primitive) voice-acting adds a lot of charm to the simple plot.

Half-Life 2 (+ Lost Coast) is, in a word, bespoke. Every chapter is so unique. For a first-person shooter, it’s impressive how the shootouts aren’t really what sticks out in a player’s mind after they’ve beaten it. Instead, they’ll probably remember controlling an army of antlions on the beach or using turrets as personal bodyguards in the prison or feeling like they’re in a zombie horror flick in Ravenholm. The amount of memorable settings and scenarios is staggering. Half-Life 2 is also often praised for its story, which I don’t quite understand. The beginning and the ending are indeed cinematic (the very first chapter is perhaps the most immersive experience I’ve ever had playing a video game), but the vast majority of the game doesn’t really have much of a relevant plot. Regardless, Half-Life 2 is easy for me to recommend to pretty much anyone who owns a computer.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit is perhaps the most obscure game in the series. When compared to the 3D Mario Kart 64, it may seem uninspired, but when compared to the 2D Super Mario Kart, its relatively responsive controls and variegated visuals are a breath of fresh air. With the benefit of hindsight (and some remakes in later Mario Kart games), it becomes apparent that Super Circuit is filled with thematically creative tracks which have stood the test of time much better than its 2D predecessor’s.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder, while we’re on the topic, is the next evolution of 2D Mario platformers. This game had a famously lengthy development cycle, and those few extra years in the oven have really paid off. Gameplay-wise, Wonder introduces two twists to the tried-and-true New Super Mario Bros. level design formula. Similar to previous games, each level typically explores a different gimmick. In this game, though, all of the rules for what these gimmicks can be have been thrown out the window. Every unique idea is imaginatively pushed to its limits, and oftentimes beyond them. Personally, the moment that most blew my mind was when the perspective changed from a side-scrolling view to a top-down view for half of a level. The second major twist is the Badge system, in which players can choose which ability they want to equip every time they begin a level. A lot of the badges are redundant and/or disappointingly unhelpful, but the increased player expression nonetheless adds a whole new dimension to Mario’s traditional platforming. Even more impactful than the gameplay changes, though, is Wonder’s brand new visual style. After so many years of a standardized Mario look, the new animations, backgrounds, and themes are all a breath of fresh air. In my opinion, Super Mario Bros. Wonder does not quite reach the same level of prestige and game feel as most 3D Mario platformers, but it’s still a delightful game and a huge step in the right direction.

Icycle: On Thin Ice, similarly to Half-Life, is surprisingly bespoke for its genre. This time, though, that genre is 2D platformer. The levels are fun to replay, the subtle touches of humor add a lot of personality, and the ever-changing visuals are consistently interesting. Unfortunately, I experienced a fair bit of performance issues, which is concerning for such a small game.

Kirby’s Dream Land 2, the confusingly-titled third game in the Kirby series, lands in-between its two predecessors in terms of quality. It retains the signature copy abilities from Kirby’s Adventure on the NES, but greatly slims down the number of them. There are three new animal companions which interact with each of Kirby’s abilities in a different way, which adds a lot of intrigue to what would otherwise be just another Game Boy Kirby game. The level design is mostly unmemorable, but I found the boss fights to be surprisingly impressive in their scope and variety.

Icycle is an incredibly short game, but it still manages to stand out amongst its platformer peers by having a uniquely whimsical artstyle. The player can never move backwards, which could have been an interesting twist, but it ends up being a bit of a missed opportunity as the levels don’t really experiment with this limitation.

Banjo-Kazooie is probably about as well-designed as a 3D collect-a-thon from the 90s can possibly be. Unfortunately, 3D collect-a-thons from the 90s are not a genre that I particularly enjoy. I can appreciate the relative intuitiveness of the level design and the sizable moveset that Banjo and Kazooie have access to. With so many different collectibles in the game, it’s impressive that most of them are hidden just the right amount: not too obscure and not too out-in-the-open. My compliments end there, though. The controls, while passable for the time, have not aged very well. They become especially frustrating when Banjo leaves terra firma and travels through the air or through the water. The storybook aesthetic, which is cute in theory, is greatly brought down by the terrible writing. This is the single biggest issue for me, as it turned a bunch of characters that should have been charming into annoying imbeciles. Banjo-Kazooie has its moments, but it’s simply not my cup of tea.

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Conclusion

So that’s my list! As always, I recommend that you play through these games and form opinions of your own, and I would be happy to discuss further if anyone is curious as to my full, unabridged thoughts on any particular game.