Three Gaming Surprises in 2023 We’re Still Processing

2023 is going to go down as a historic year in video games. From a hotly contested Game of the Year debate to shadow drops, canceled projects, and historic layoffs, the gaming industry is in great shape financially and in absolute turmoil for developers. Let’s save the exploration of the job climate for the industry for another article and talk about three gaming surprises in 2023 that we’re still processing.

Hi-Fi Rush Released as a Surprise, and Just So Happens to Be Incredible

At a January 2023 Developer Direct, Microsoft announced, released, and put the game in the hands of Game Pass subscribers in the blink of an eye. Developer Tango Gameworks was well-known for its work on The Evil Within series, so a rhythm game from the studio was just as surprising as the fact that it was shadow-dropping almost immediately after being unveiled. The best surprise of all? The game is great and took a lot of people off-guard with its heart and fun factor.

While a lot of people tend to be on one side of the fence or the other when it comes to rhythm or music games, Hi-Fi Rush offers something different. Combat set to the beat of a great track list allowed the game to be both unserious and seriously addictive. It’s tough to keep people’s attention on your game for GOTY talks when your project releases in January, but plenty of people are still giving love to this great game into 2024.

Nintendo Switch’s Endless Hot Streak is Stronger than Ever

Over six years old at this point, the Nintendo Switch is the little gaming engine that could and continues to push ahead. Rather than use 2023 as a wind-down year ahead of a new Switch successor likely coming in 2024, some of the greatest games in the Switch’s library were released in 2023. Not only did Super Mario RPG Remake and Super Mario Bros. Wonder give Nintendo strong titles ahead of the holidays, but early-year releases like Fire Emblem: Engage and Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe kicked the year off in a big way.

The real kicker is the middle of the year. Games like Metroid Prime: Remastered and Pikmin 4 were great ways to take long-running series and amp up the excitement for them. Hopefully, we’re looking at those two franchises to make an appearance on the Switch 2 sooner than later. Oh, did I forget to mention The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom? One of the greatest games of all time was improved in every way, and it’s somehow just one of many huge highlights for the Switch over six years after its launch. Bravo, Nintendo.

Baulder’s Gate 3 Going Mainstream and Making Choice Matter Again

If you played Early Access for Baulder’s Gate 3, you knew the game would be good. If you like CRPGs, TRPGs, or D&D, or acronyms apparently, you were probably going to like the game as well. What really surprised us this year was just how huge the game got, including the clear demand for choice to matter in games in a way we’ve slowly but surely seen go away. Open-world games give us the guise of choice and player’s decisions making a material difference, but Larian Studios accomplished something that will shape gaming for years.

In titles like Starfield or Hogwarts Legacy, you get the option to choose dialogue that shapes the way characters interact with you. For the most part, however, these decisions don’t make a huge difference. In Baulder’s Gate 3, you can kill mainline party members, lose entire questlines due to a rushed decision, and shape the world of the game around you one dice roll at a time. It turns out people love this level of depth to their experience, even more than we might have realized.

What was your biggest surprise of 2023 in gaming? Let us know in the comments!