Before we get to my honorable mentions and actual top 10 games of 2023, I have more awards to give out. I enjoy doing these as it lets me highlight games that might not get as much shine on my overall top 10 list. Head here for my top 10 moments of the year list.
BEST OPTIONAL/SIDE CONTENT
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Starfield
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Sea of Stars
Both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield hit you with tons of optional/side content, and for both, it’s really enjoyable. Baldur’s Gate 3 side content stands out for the different ways it can affect the entire game as a whole. Most of the side quests in Baldur’s Gate 3 are hard to tell apart from anything that is from the “main quest”.
Starfield has side quests everywhere, and like with any Bethesda game, it often trumps the main quest content. Tears of the Kingdom has an extensive amount of optional content that helps enhance the exploration of the game. Final Fantasy XVI side content is often not good in terms of quest design, but it features some of the strongest story moments of any game this year, and the hunts are pretty cool. Sea of Stars makes the list solely off the strength of “Wheels”, a weird slots and poker mixture that I absolutely adored.
BEST PERFORMANCE
- Ben Starr as Clive (Final Fantasy XVI)
- Ralph Ineson as Cid (Final Fantasy XVI)
- Devora Wilde as Lae’zel (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Andrew Wincott as Raphael (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- David Harewood as Warlin Door (Alan Wake 2)
With Final Fantasy XVI and Baldur’s Gate 3 alone, you could have a dozen different people in your top 5 that I wouldn’t question at all. But for me, even with how strong this year was, Ben Starr stood alone with his performance. Clive is a strong character, but Starr makes him better in every way. It’s a performance laced with pain and hope, and every time Starr speaks you feel it. I’m excited to follow his career for years to come, as I think he could be a legitimate star (lol pun) in this field, if he isn’t already.
I thought Ralph Ineson played off Ben Starr perfectly as Cid with his unique voice, and also delivered an incredibly strong performance in Final Fantasy XVI.
As voice performance award nominees started coming out, I was surprised to not see Devora Wilde on many lists, as I was captivated by her as Lae’zel in Baldur’s Gate 3. I thought her voice matched the rough personality of Lae’zel so well. I also lowkey think Lae’zel might be the funniest character of the year, and her comedic timing was consistently perfect there.
Andrew Wincott and David Harewood did not get much screen time, but I was so compelled by both of them that I felt the need to include them. I thought Wincott was incredible as Raphael. His voice is so perfectly sinister, that I was enthralled every time he hit the screen.
Harewood has the benefit of also getting some live action time in his performance as Warlin Door, which is what really gets him here for me. He comes across as your perfect stereotypical talk show host, but with that slight edge of creepiness. He also has one last moment at the end of his arc in the game where he gets fully serious, and that moment pretty much cemented his spot on the list for me. And to top it off, he does great with the vocals in “Herald of Darkness”.
BEST CHARACTER
- Clive (Final Fantasy XVI)
- Lae’zel (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Hi-Fi Rush Cast (Hi-Fi Rush)
- Partitio (Octopath Traveler 2)
- Garl (Sea of Stars)
It’s probably no shocker that two of my favorite performances of the year were also two of my favorite characters, as both voice actors enhanced their characters greatly in my view. Clive is not only my favorite character of the year, but also the greatest Final Fantasy lead by a wide margin for me. His character development, likability, and depth are all off the charts.
All the discourse on Baldur’s Gate 3 characters seems to come down to the most romanced ones, Shadowheart and Astarion. I honestly found both of them a bit annoying. As someone who played a very “lawful good” type character in Baldur’s Gate 3, Lae’zel constantly cracked me up with her disapproval of my actions. In my 2nd playthrough as a barbarian who is a bit more like her, I am now seeing a different side of her that is pretty cool too.
I cheated a bit by including the entire Hi-Fi Rush cast, but I do kind of feel like they come together as one unit. No individual character is all that incredible, but their chemistry together is perfect, and it is a big part of what gives the game its charm.
Our other participants are the charismatic merchant Partitio, who also has my favorite story arc in Octopath Traveler 2, and Garl, who is included in my top moments of the year list, and is just a very good boy.
BEST INDIE
- Astral Ascent
- Chants of Sennarr
- Cocoon
- Sea of Stars
- Roboquest
All of these games will either be on my top 10, or in the honorable mentions, so I’ll save more thoughts for later. Despite this, I still like segregating this list so that these games get a little extra spotlight. Discovering the best indie games of the year is one of my biggest joys, because I usually go in to these games without seeing much marketing or hype.
I felt in danger of not feeling that way, as I didn’t really love any indie games in the first half of 2023. All five of these games came out in the second half of the year. What began as one of the weakest indie years I had seen turned into one of the best in a long time.
BEST MUSIC
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Alan Wake 2
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Astral Ascent
Final Fantasy XVI was my clear winner, with an absolutely epic orchestral soundtrack. Final Fantasy XVI not getting a game of the year nomination at the VGAs made me sad, solely because it wouldn’t get the full orchestra treatment it really deserved.
Alan Wake 2 has “Herald of Darkness”, which is my favorite song of the year even outside of video games. It’s good all around, but that song put it over the top for me.
Octopath Traveler 2 has people who say it is the best OST in video game history. And even though it’s only 3rd on my list, it is so good, that I can’t even scoff at that take.
Hi-Fi Rush mostly gets here for its licensed music, which I absolutely loved, and made the boss fights as awesome as they are. And Astral Ascent might be the first ever roguelite I put 50 hours into without turning on podcasts or other music. I had a lot of soundtracks I considered in that spot, as the top 4 was pretty set for me, but that accomplishment made me feel like it was worth that prestigious 5th spot.
Best Graphics/Art
- Alan Wake 2
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Jusant
- Lies of P
Alan Wake 2 is an absolutely visual masterpiece in every way, from the character models, to the lighting, and especially the environments. Final Fantasy XVI is beautiful, but also is just so masterful with the art direction during its massive boss fights. I love the art style of Hi-Fi Rush, and especially the way the entire environment reacts to the music. Jusant is just a beautiful game with a lovely art style, and Lies of P also has some incredible art direction.
Best Story
- Alan Wake 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Starfield
- Octopath Traveler 2
Alan Wake 2 grabs you early on and it doesn’t let go. Despite how complex it can be, the story is also easy to follow, in part because of the case board mechanic, and it has several thrilling twists and turns along the way. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a close second, with a strong narrative, some fun side stories, and many branching paths.
Final Fantasy XVI‘s plot loses some of its steam in the second half, but damn the first half is so good, and I didn’t hate it the rest of the way or anything, it just doesn’t keep up the pace of the strong start. I really enjoyed Starfield‘s main story, and I thought it tackled some compelling themes. Some of the side mission stories are really strong too. I didn’t care for Octopath Traveler 2‘s overarching story that tried to connect everything, but the individual stories are all quite good across the board.
Coming Thursday, my top 10 games of 2023!
Big Nerd Gaming 
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