Another year, another ridiculously late Games of the Year article. Many apologies. It took much longer than expected to get to all of the standout 2023 unboxings on our YouTube channel. We plan to have all the 2024 unboxings done within the first few months of next year, and then we will hopefully be able to focus on getting caught up with 2025 by this time next December. If it's any consolation, as a result of taking so much time to determine the winners of 2023, we're feeling extremely confident in our picks (not that we haven't for most other years). Hopefully, you will too. Please read on to find out why we chose what we chose as the 12 best titles that 2023 had to offer:

Despite the massive success of the Wii, Nintendo had a problem on their hands just a few short years after its release. While the system exploded in popularity shortly after its launch, it was failing to maintain that same level of interest over time. The motion-based controls that Nintendo (and their competitors) had gone all in on over the subsequent console cycle had clearly been a passing fad. Changes to the design of their next home gaming system would be necessary if Nintendo desired to stay relevant.

​For inspiration, Nintendo decided to look no further than their very own successful line of DS handheld game systems. They came up with the idea for a tablet controller that would serve as a second screen, offering developers and players a choice of how they wanted to control their gameplay, be it with standard buttons and sticks, a touchscreen, or motion controls (for those that still wanted them). As an added bonus, this would also let players choose (in most cases) to either view the gameplay on a regular television screen, or the tablet controller itself, offering a unique level of versatility and flexibility for gaming enthusiasts who had to share the TV with other members of their household. The new console would ultimately also boast better graphics, HDMI output (which the Wii had notably lacked), and full backward compatibility with the Wii.

​Dubbed the Wii U, Nintendo's new console would make its debut on November 18, 2012. Sadly, despite looking like a pretty respectable machine on paper, the console ended up being a pretty big flop for Nintendo, not even managing to reach a quarter of the numbers that its predecessor had sold. While the astoundingly poor choice of name was a big part of the Wii U's problems, so too was its comparatively anemic library of titles. Though the Wii U did have a fairly reasonable selection to offer at first, support for the console waned after the first couple of years, to the point where major new titles for the system began to come pretty few and far between.

That isn't to say that the Wii U's library was bad, however. Far from it. By nearly any metric, a good portion of the Wii U's titles actually ended up being objectively better than those that had been released for the Wii. Not only was the Wii U not absolutely rife with the same massive pile of third-party (wrist) waggle-controlled garbage games that the Wii library became infamous for, but many of its Nintendo-published titles were higher quality as well. Most games on the Wii U tended to score better with critics, featured more precise controls, and were arguably just more fun. Please read on for a list of 12 of the best games that the Wii U had to offer.

One might be forgiven for having thought that by the end of September, most of the year's big releases had already been released. Apparently this was not the case, however, as the last several weeks have seen the arrival of a number of high profile titles. This past week alone gave us the Octopath Traveler-inspired HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest III, a game that has been hotly-anticipated by many a fan of the beloved Dragon Quest series and/or high quality RPGs in general.

Also out in the last 7 weeks, the latest installment in the Mario & Luigi RPG series, a sweet-looking turn-based tactical spin on the action-packed Metal Slug series,  and a remaster of the PSP port of the PS2 classic tactical RPG, Phantom Brave. A beloved masterpiece, reimagined. Jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 49 days.

After the massive success of Sony's original PlayStation, a follow-up console basically became a foregone conclusion. Rival Sega, which had utterly taken a beating with their ill-fated Saturn console, attempted to correct course with their next gaming system, the Dreamcast; even managing to get a jump on the competition by getting their new hardware to market over a year before anyone else. Sony, still enjoying their considerable lead in the race, was able to take some time in developing a proper successor to the PlayStation, and did ultimately succeed in delivering something truly worthy of following in that formidable console's footsteps.

The PlayStation 2 would officially be unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show on September 20, 1999, merely a week after the release of Sega's Dreamcast. Despite some savvy design decisions, a respectable library of new and upcoming titles, and the Dreamcast's modest early foothold in that generation's console race, it wouldn't be enough. The absolutely massive amount of hype leading up to, and then following, the October 26, 2000 North American launch of Sony's smartly-designed PlayStation 2 console would impact Dreamcast sales to the point that Sega would have to prematurely bring its run to an end, just five months later.

The hype was definitely warranted. In addition to doubling as a budget-friendly DVD player, and being backward-compatible with a massive collection of original PlayStation titles, the PS2 would boast its own substantial library of games - - one of the largest for any console, not only then, but ever. While a collection that large is bound to have at least a few stinkers, it also, of course, contained plenty of top-notch exclusives as well, both temporary, and permanent (at least for that generation). Please read on for a selection of 12 of the finest titles to ever grace the PlayStation 2.

Well, we're nearing the end of September and all the year's biggest titles have pretty much dropped by now. This very week saw the release of what has probably been the most-anticipated Switch title of the year, Echoes of Wisdom, a Legend of Zelda game that actually stars the titular character! As arguably the freshest title in the series since the multiplayer fun of 2004's Four Swords Adventures, this may have just been the most-anticipated game of the year for any platform.

Also out in the last 9 weeks, a follow-up to the surprisingly good 2011 Warhammer 40,000 title, Space Marine; an aquatic-themed follow-up to the outstanding 2015 robots-in-space action strategy game, SteamWorld Heist; and a collection of most of (if not all) of Capcom's incredible late 90s Marvel-themed arcade fighting titles. "Save Hyrule - - this time with Princess Zelda!" Jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 63 days.

A few days ago, Nintendo hosted yet another Direct presentation to showcase another selection of upcoming gaming announcements, and while a lot of them weren't particularly special, there were two that stood out from the crowd. The first was the Castlevania Dominus Collection from Konami. A compilation of all three excellent Nintendo DS Castlevania titles gathered into one fantastic package. That game, by the way, was actually released the same day as its announcement (on Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Steam), so go pick it up if you haven't already.

The second, and still forthcoming incredible title to be announced was one Capcom Fighting Collection 2. An assemblage of several of Capcom's greatest fighting games ever made, including both Capcom Vs SNK titles, both Power Stone releases, the upgraded final arcade version of Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Project Justice and Plasma Sword! A collection this good is enough to send any fighting game enthusiast into a frenzy.

Sadly, no specific release date has yet been provided beyond the general window of sometime in 2025. Luckily however, the Direct did provide a release date for Capcom's other huge upcoming fighting game compilation, the Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection, which will be arriving digitally on September 12, and physically on November 22 (on multiple platforms). That should keep fighting fans pretty well occupied while they wait for the Capcom Fighting Collection 2 to drop.

For more information on the Marvel Vs Capcom Fighting Collection, you can watch that most recent Direct trailer here, or you can check out the Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Direct trailer after the break.

Well, we're past the midpoint of 2024 and quickly nearing the late summer/early fall harvest time of year where new game releases become just as plentiful as the farmers crops. Recently though, it's been just a steady trickle of thoughtful ports and the occasional interesting new title. Case in point, the standout offering of this last week was a PC, Switch, and PS4 port of the 2003 arcade fighter, SNK Vs Capcom: Chaos.

While perhaps not quite as solid as Capcom's two takes on the legendary fighting franchise mashup, as SNK's sole unique interpretation of the concept is still well worth checking out. If not for being one of SNK's first titles following their untimely 2001 closure and near-immediate resurrection, or one of the last to grace their legendary Neo-Geo hardware, then certainly for it's familiar, comfort food graphics and gameplay, and inspired roster of characters. Nearly any way you slice it, SNK Vs Capcom: Chaos is a title that earned its rightful place in the annals of gaming history and is pretty much a must-play for fans of either company (if not fighting games in general).

Also out in the last 9 weeks, console ports (and a GOG one for good measure) of last year's hit roguelike dungeon crawler, Darkest Dungeon II; the latest entry in the nearly annual Legend of Heroes franchise; and a switch port of Nintendo's fantastic 2013 3DS classic, Luigi's Mansion (2): Dark Moon. "When worlds collide . . . you get Chaos!" Jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 63 days.

A few weeks ago, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, all held their annual May/June video presentations to show gamers what titles they can get excited about playing in the coming months and/or years. While these late spring announcements used to coincide with the long-running, world-famous Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, sadly, that event is no more. Thankfully, the video game industry remembers and still carries on the long-standing tradition, with or without a central physical venue to do it from; and as long as they continue do so, we will strive to do our part and cover them. Please read on for some of the highlights.

Well, another month and incredibly, this year will already be half over. Insanity. But at least it's been filled with some pretty fantastic new games thus far. Why, even this past week saw the release of a sequel to Ninja Theory's award-winning 2017 title, Hellblade, as well as a Switch remake of the absolutely phenomenal 2004 GameCube classic, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In fact, TTYD is widely regarded as one of the better Mario games ever made, Paper or otherwise, so if you've never had the privilege to play it, now is the time.

Also out in the last 15 weeks, a pair of fantastic Toaplan arcade shoot 'em ups; and a follow-up to Capcom's somewhat underrated 2012 action RPG, Dragon's Dogma. "A comical adventure that pops off the pages!" Jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 105 days.