Reid Main

Delays continued to plague the video game industry for the entirety of 2022. Both indie and AAA developers were effected and now the release schedule for 2023 is ludicrously packed. If just half the games on my list get released I'm not even sure I'll have enough time to play them all.

1. Persona 3 Portable

Persona is quickly becoming one of my favourite video game franchises of all-time and we are finally going to see a modern port of Persona 3 Portable. I've been trying to play this game for a couple years now but buying a PSP just for it seemed insane.

On January 19th it will be released on Steam and you can bet your ass I will be there day 1 playing it on my Steam Deck.

2. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

FromSoftware is back with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and after Elden Ring I don't even bother trying to understand what their games are anymore. I just get hyped.

3. Marvel's Spider-Man 2

We finally get to fight Venom!

4. Starfield

Bethesda is still the undisputed king of open-world role-playing games until they fuck it up. Even though the trailers for Starfield have left me a bit apprehensive there is no doubt that I will play it.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Surprising no one, the sequel to Breath of the Wild was delayed again but at least we did get a title, Tears of the Kingdom.

As much as I hated on Breath of the Wild because it wasn't a "real" Zelda game, I readily admit that it was a fantastic open-world game. Having had six years to adjust my expectations for Tears of the Kingdom I am finally in a position to be really excited about it.

6. Baldur's Gate III

As expected, Baldur's Gate III stayed in early access for all of 2022 but it does sound like the developers are quite confident that 2023 is the year.

7. Final Fantasy XVI

The best thing I can say about Final Fantasy XV is that it wasn't bad enough to crush my hopes for the entire franchise. But I do think that Final Fantasy XVI is Square Enix's last shot. With games like Persona 5, Dragon Quest XI, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon being released in recent years, the Final Fantasy franchise is teetering on the razor's edge with me.

8. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

From my March 2021 retrospective:

The combat can be a bit clunky at times along with the traversal elements. You're going to find yourself jumping into pits more often than you'd like. But 70% of the game comes together amazingly well and it resulted in me having a great time.

I cannot wait to see the sequel to this because I have complete confidence that Respawn is going to be able to sand off all these rough edges and create an even better game.

Well the sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, is coming in 2023 so let's see how much sanding Respawn has done.

9. Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

Harvest Moon (now called Story of Seasons for good old legal reasons) is releasing a remake in 2023 of A Wonderful Life. As I am a sucker for these farming sim / slice of life type games I absolutely must play it.

10. Darkest Dungeon II

After a little over a year in early-access Darkest Dungeon II looks to be getting an official release in 2023. While I am almost certain that I won't enjoy more than 10 hours of this game I love the risks that Red Hook Studios is taking in this genre. There are not enough turn-based tactics games for my liking!

11. Like a Dragon: Ishin!

This is a dark horse for me because while Like a Dragon: Ishin! is technically part of the Like a Dragon series (previously known as Yakuza in the West) it is a very different game than the ones I have played. I'm gonna trust the developers at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and hope they can wow me once again.

12. Alan Wake II

I am usually not able to play scary games but something about Alan Wake resonated me with and I am hoping that same feeling will carry over to Alan Wake II.

13. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

I honestly don't think we're going to see Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp in 2023 unless Russia decides to pull out of Ukraine. Don't get me wrong I hope that happens but in the likely scenario that the war drags on I'm not sure Nintendo is going to be able to stomach the release of this game.

14. Resident Evil 4 Remake

The original Resident Evil 4 is undoubtedly one of my favourite games of all time so this remake has my interest but also makes me a bit uneasy. I know that a lot of aspects of RE4 haven't aged well (such as the tank controls) but they played a major part of what made RE4 so revolutionary at the time. My greatest fear is that this remake is going to play like a run-of-the-mill third person shooter which is probably not going to hold my interest.

15. System Shock

Another game that slipped from 2022, but I am still looking forward to the System Shock remake.

16. Forza Motorsport

Supposedly the 8th game in the Forza Motorsport franchise is coming in 2023 and does not have a number in its name for...reasons.

17. Diablo IV

It's Diablo IV. Of course I'll play it.

18. The Settlers: New Allies

This game has been delayed and revamped so many times that I honestly am not sure what it is anymore. Originally I was excited for this game because I thought it was suppose to be a return to the days of Settlers II but with The Settlers: New Allies now being released for consoles I have absolutely no idea what it is going to play like.

19. Company of Heroes 3

Age of Empires IV was a really solid game so I am looking forward to Relic Entertainment returning to World War II with Company of Heroes 3.

20. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

I suspect Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not going to be able to live up to my expectations. I want a more story driven game like the earlier ones in the Batman: Arkham series but I suspect I am going to get a cooperative shooter where you just need to make sure the numbers keep going higher

21. Dead Island 2

The idea of running around Los Angeles murdering zombies with friends sounds great on paper, so let's hope Dead Island 2 can translate that into a game which is enjoyable for more than 10 hours.